FirstGroup awarded GWR franchise until 2023

FirstGroup said it had been awarded a direct contract to continue operating the Great Western Railway franchise until 2023 by the government.

The agreement runs until March 31, 2023 with a possible one-year extension at the discretion of the Department for Transport (DfT).

FirstGroup said the contract would run concurrently with the DfT’s emergency measures agreement where the government had taken over the railways for at least six months in response to the coronavirus pandemic which has sparked a collapse in passenger numbers.