13 June 2019

Southeastern Extension Confirmed

An extension to the current Southeastern franchise has been agreed following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport on 10 April 2019.

Southeastern will continue to operate services until 10 November 2019, with an option to extend to 1 April 2020, allowing the Government more time to review and award a winner for the next South Eastern franchise. 

During the extension period Southeastern will introduce an improved compensation scheme as part of a suite of passenger-focused improvements.  'Delay Repay 15' will mean passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more will receive money back to compensate them for the inconvenience, where currently compensation applies for delays over 30 minutes.

David Statham, Southeastern's Managing Director, said:

"This extension gives us the opportunity to build on the customer improvements we've delivered over recent months, during which service punctuality has reached its highest levels in Southeastern's history.

"I don't want any of our passengers to be delayed, but if they are it's really important that we compensate them properly.  That's why I'm delighted to announce these improvements to Delay Repay, which will make a real difference for people who experience shorter delays of between 15 and 30 minutes".

Govia, Go-Ahead's joint venture with Keolis (Go-Ahead 65%, Keolis 35%), is shortlisted for the next franchise.  Govia has operated the franchise as Southeastern since 2006.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

GO-AHEAD 

Go-Ahead is a leading UK public transport operator, providing high quality services in the bus and rail sectors. Employing around 28,000 people across our businesses, over one billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. We are committed to operating our companies in a safe, socially and environmentally responsible way and are proud to have been the first FTSE250 company to be certified with FTSE4Good accreditation and have been recertified for seven consecutive years. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and local authorities.

BUS 

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of around 5,000 buses, we carry over two million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 23 per cent market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. Outside London, we operate services in Oxford, East Anglia, Hull, the South East, Southern and north east England. In September 2016, the Group began operating a bus contract in Singapore, and in September 2018 began operating one of two Irish bus contracts.

RAIL 

The rail operation, Govia, is 65 per cent owned by Go-Ahead and 35 per cent by Keolis. It is the largest rail operation in the UK, responsible for over 30 per cent of all UK passenger rail journeys through its rail franchises: GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) and Southeastern.