West Coast Partnership Won By First Trenitalia

摘要

On 14 August 2019 a consortium formed of Trenitalia (30 %) and First Group (70 %) was announced as winner of the West Coast Partnership franchise. Taking over from Virgin West Coast on 8 December 2019, First Trenitalia is to run this franchise until March 2031. Virgin Trains is thus left, for the moment, without any rail operating activities in Britain. It was disqualified from the West Coast Partnership bidding in June, having submitted a joint bid with Stagecoach and SNCF, this bid being dismissed as non-compliant following disagreements over pension payments liabilities (see R 3/19, p. 25). After that, the only other bidder left in the running was the MTR West Coast Partnership consortium formed of the MTR Corporation (UK), the Guangshen Railway Company and Rente.