Express route to Silverlink deal

BUSES to trains group National Express is close to agreeing a two-year extension of its Silverlink franchise with the Strategic Rail Authority.

The disclosure copmes just days after a report from the SRA which identified Silverlink as one of only four rail lines that have seen a deterioration in punctuality this year.

National Express said that agreeing an extension to its franchise would provide 'further stability' while engineering work and other development continues on the West Coast mainline.

Meanwhile, in a trading statement to the City ahead of its half-year results, the company said that passenger volumes across its trains division remained 'encouraging' with average growth of 5%.

The National Express coach division has had a strong start to the year with a 6% increase in passenger numbers, helped by the launch of additional services.

Today's comments come just a month after the Office of Fair Trading announced it would refer the company's acquisition of the Greater Anglia rail franchise to the Competition Commission. There was no word today on progress of the referral from National Express.

Separately, the Competition Commission confirmed that it will not block the proposed transfer to FirstGroup of the Scottish rail franchise so long as the company agrees to strict undertakings on fares and service levels.

FirstGroup would become the largest public transport operator in Scotland if it took over the heavily subsidised Scottish rail franchise. The consumer watchdog said it was concerned about the impact this would have on competition and the likely adverse effects of such a move, including higher bus fares and poorer services in parts of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

FirstGroup has extensive bus operations in both cities and the Competition Commission said that these could be cut back if the company took over the running of train services in the area as well.

The Competition Commission said it also wants FirstGroup to allow other bus operators in Scotland to take part in ticketing systems and to sell these impartially.

The company will also have to agree to display information about other operators‘ bus services and an independent monitor will be appointed to ensure that the company agrees with these requirements, the Competition Commission added.