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whats the chances of SNCF coming in for a merger with first,as dont forget they whete gonna merge with arriva till arriva pulled and started talks with DB instead.

(03/10/2012 07:44)motormayhem Wrote: [ -> ]whats the chances of SNCF coming in for a merger with first,as dont forget they whete gonna merge with arriva till arriva pulled and started talks with DB instead.

I mentioned last night that I fancy Keolis (SNCF) to try and takeover First Group. They have a 50% share in Transpennine Express already and are looking to increase their UK operations.

I've got a feeling that the government will run East Coast/West Coast/ Great Western directly, (Intercity!), but leave the regional operations as franchises. A bit like Germany.

Scotrail will be ran by Scottish Executive, Wales & Borders ran by Welsh Government.

(03/10/2012 07:50)First Class Wrote: [ -> ]

(03/10/2012 07:44)motormayhem Wrote: [ -> ]whats the chances of SNCF coming in for a merger with first,as dont forget they whete gonna merge with arriva till arriva pulled and started talks with DB instead.

I mentioned last night that I fancy Keolis (SNCF) to try and takeover First Group. They have a 50% share in Transpennine Express already and are looking to increase their UK operations.

I've got a feeling that the government will run East Coast/West Coast/ Great Western directly, (Intercity!), but leave the regional operations as franchises. A bit like Germany.

Scotrail will be ran by Scottish Executive, Wales & Borders ran by Welsh Government.

That is not a conservative way of thinking , they will be refranchised eventually .

First will soon be subjected to a takeover bid if there share price keeps going south.

First Group share value has just had £230million wiped off the market value. It is clearly wrong that a government department could cause that scale of loss to anyone through either incompetence or corruption.

First are partly to blame for that though - they claimed they got *exactly* the same figures as DaFT, which clearly they couldn't have....


Don't think First are the innocent party here, they've been talking the DfTs risk figures down for quite a while....

(28/09/2012 23:47)Damien Wrote: [ -> ]Wigan is subject of a lot of rumors and gossip at the moment, suggesting that Stagecoach are looking at taking the depot, and the deal will be done within three months. Personally seems highly doubtful.

If Stagecoach was to buy it, this could prove to be a very beneficial move for them. It sits nicely between their Merseyside, Lancashire and Manchester networks, so Stagecoach could look at introducing new routes to link Wigan with these areas (and potentially provide a way of linking the first two with Manchester).

The other thing is "future-proofing". I went to the Busway consultation in Leigh last week and spoke with the guy in charge of the project. He told me that Stagecoach was the keenest out of all the operators they have spoken with, so Wigan could provide a perfect base for running the services, especially with the ready capacity available on site.

If stagecoach was to take on Wigan , services to Manchester from Wigan would have to be looked at .

I have heard this, there has been a deal made with Rotala for Wigan and an announcement is expected imminently, with vehicles and staff to pass over on Sunday 6th January 2013, it will become co-managed with Preston Bus.

That partually explains perhaps why X699ADK has transfered over as it is the only B10BLE fitted with a tachagraph and I suspect Rotala is interested in Private Hire so no doubt they called the shots on that transfer.

As for the fleet expect withdrawals and secondhand purchases to come in either from within Rotala or from elsewhere.

Wether the operation might be built up with tenders elsewhere in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside or wether other operatiosn in the Wigan area or further afield might be bolted on remains to be seen.

Well that takes the total to four "preferred bidders" that I have heard this week. There is still an air of uncertainty as what I do know is that announcement should have been made this week, but something has happened to put that back until next week at the earliest.

I would be slightly surprised if Rotala were interested in Wigan. For a start thier financial position appears to be slightly strained still from the purchase of Preston Bus.
Secondly, their big on the fuel economy of their vehicles and none of those currently at Wigan are particularly good, so they've have a lot to replace....