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Virgin, Stagecoach and France's SNCF link up for HS2 bid

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   A Virgin train on the current pre-HS2 west coast route.

   [ ] A Virgin train on the current pre-HS2 west coast route. Photograph:
   Martin Keene/PA

   The French state railway SNCF is to partner with Virgin Trains for a
   bid to run the first HS2 high-speed trains.

   The competition for the West Coast Partnership franchise will pit the
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   The winner will run the existing intercity service on the main line
   from London to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow from 2019,
   as well as the new high-speed services when they come into operation in
   about 2026.

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   The Department for Transport has stipulated that all bidders must have
   experience of running high-speed trains, which has obliged Virgin to
   bring SNCF on board. Stagecoach is taking a 50% share, SNCF 30% and Sir
   Richard Branson’s Virgin 20%.
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   UK rail lottery.

   “The integrated HS2/west coast operation has been bought and paid for
   by the British people and should be run by the British state in the
   public interest and not by some consortium of speculators looking to
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   Virgin will hope that the addition of SNCF, which operates a fleet of
   430 high-speed trains across Europe, will put it in pole position to
   retain its franchise and run the new HS2 services. First partner
   Trenitalia’s Italian network includes a spine served by Frecciarossa
   high-speed trains.

   Martin Griffiths, the chief executive of Stagecoach, said: “This
   creates a powerful world-class partnership, bringing together the team
   which has transformed intercity rail travel in the UK with the most
   recognised and capable high-speed operator in Europe.”

   Guillaume Pepy, the chairman of SNCF, said it would build on the French
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   expertise and experience”.

   The first phase of the HS2 route to Birmingham is due to be up and
   running by 2026 and for a period after that trains will continue north
   on the existing west coast line, until the rest of the high-speed
   network is completed.

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     * Rail industry
     * HS2
     * Stagecoach
     * Rail transport
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