Virgin Rail owner confirms West Coast bid still on track

VIRGIN Rail owner Stagecoach Group has confirmed it will press ahead with its bid to renew its franchise for the vital West Coast Main Line.

The move has been prompted after Stagecoach revealed the franchise had seen almost 9% in the 40 weeks to February 5 this year.

This may not be the only franchise to occupy the group’s interest as it said it would also be evaluating other rail opportunities as they arose.

In a trading update, Stagecoach said: “In January 2012, the Department for Transport published the Invitation to Tender for the new West Coast Trains rail franchise and the group’s joint venture, Virgin Rail Group, is progressing its bid for the franchise, due to commence in December 2012.

“The group continues to evaluate other rail franchise opportunities as these emerge.”
Overall, the group its current trading remained good and the long-term outlook for the business was positive.

Profitability remained good and Stagecoach said it had seen healthy like-for-like revenue growth, with bus operations up 3% and rail overall, up 9.5%.

The group’s North American operation was also showing encouraging signs, up 13.3% in the nine months to January 31, 2012.

“The group continues to maintain a strong financial position with investment grade credit ratings and substantial headroom under its debt facilities,” it said.