Commuters into Paddington station will be able to fight over more morning rush-hour seats as part of a four-year, £68 million deal to extend FirstGroup’s operation of the Great Western line to Oxford, Bristol and the west country.
The Government’s decision comes despite First Great Western receiving the most complaints about delays on social media last year, with commuters sending 45,100 tweets about late trains and 265,201 missives on First’s service overall — more than any other train company.
Nonetheless, the longer franchise is a second piece of good news for FTSE 250-listed First, which won a year-long extension to its operation of the TransPennine Express line last week.
Investors have been disappointed after it lost five huge bids last year, including the London-to-Scotland East Coast Main Line and the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern deal, the biggest rail contract in Europe.
Now First has promised to add an extra 4000 seats per day to peak morning services on the Great Western route from Paddington into Oxford, Bristol and Penzance by December 2018.
In return, it secures the operation of the route until at least April 2019, and potentially a further year.
The Department for Transport said First had also promised new trains, faster journeys between Penzance and Paddington and London to South Wales, Oxford and Bristol, a £30 million investment in stations, bike storage and car parks and a £2.5 million accessibility fund.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin claimed he wants to secure “a railway that is fit for the 21st century”.
First is paying the Government £68 million to operate the franchise.
