National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction with Bus Éireann), United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, and Morocco and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
and is a constituent of the
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septem ...
.
History
In 1972, the state-owned National Bus Company decided to bring together the scheduled coach services operated by its bus operating companies in the United Kingdom under one brand. Sir Frederick Wood, a prominent businessman and industrialist, was asked to oversee the creation of this new business model and led the group as its chairman from 1972 to 1978. Initially branded as ''National'', the ''National Express'' brand was first used in 1974.National Express Group: Our History National ExpressNational Express Group PLC and Saltire Holdings Ltd Monopolies and Mergers Commission February 1994 page 3
With the privatisation of the National Bus Company in the 1980s, National Express was subject to a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...
in March 1988. The management team began to diversify, and in 1989 they purchased Crosville Wales but its financial performance began to deteriorate from early 1990. A new management team took over the company in July 1991, with the backing of mid-market private equity firm, ECI Partners. The new team refocused the group on its core activities and sold Crosville Wales to
British Bus
British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996.
History
British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead ...
. In October 1991, it purchased Speedlink, an operator of coach services between Gatwick and
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
s. In December 1992, National Express Group plc was floated on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
.
Acquisitions and disposals
In 1993,
Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in ...
East Midlands Airport
East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, close to Castle Donington in northwestern Leicestershire, between Loughborough (), Derby () and Nottingham (); Leicester is () to the south and Lincoln () ...
were acquired. In April 1995 National Express purchased West Midlands Travel, the formerly council owned bus network of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
Travel West Midlands
National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, s ...
in September 1996. This began the brand family of ''Travel ...'' local bus operations.
Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil contr ...
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...
. To comply with a
Monopolies & Mergers Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under ...
Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in ...
operation to Metroline in August 1998.
In February 1997, Taybus Public Transport was acquired and rebranded Travel Dundee.
In September 1998, Crabtree-Harmon, the seventh-largest student transportation bus company in the United States was acquired, with 82 school bus contracts mainly in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, but also in other Midwest states including
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
. In February 1999, Robinson Bus Service was purchased followed in August 1999 by Durham Transportation. These acquisitions placed National Express as one of the top three United States school bus operators.
In May 1999, National Express purchased Australia's largest private bus operator, National Bus Company. National Bus Company had bus operations in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
's largest bus operator. Westbus also had a London coach operation. In August 1999, National Express won the M>Train, M>Tram and V/Line Passenger rail franchises in the Australian state of Victoria.
In January 2000, National Express expanded into the American market by acquiring ATC, a public transportation operator. In July 2000, Prism Rail was purchased adding the
State Government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
bus operations to Connex. After being placed in administration in January 2005, Westbus was sold to ComfortDelGro Cabcharge in August 2005.
In June 2005, the London bus arm of
Tellings-Golden Miller
Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey.
History ...
was purchased and also rebranded Travel London. In July 2005, National Express sold ATC to Connex. In October 2005, National Express agreed to buy most of the operations of privately owned Spanish transport operator ALSA, which operates bus and coach services in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and long-distance coach services to other parts of Europe. Alsa's operations in South America and China were retained by the previous owners.
In April 2007, National Express acquired Continental Auto, the second-largest bus and coach operator in Spain.
In November 2007, South East England coach operator The Kings Ferry was purchased and an airport to hotel shuttle service in London branded
Dot2Dot
Dot2Dot was a demand responsive airport bus service and company operating in London, United Kingdom. It started operations on 1 November 2007, after National Express rebranded the Hotelink business it acquired in April 2007.
Dot2Dot operated ...
was launched. It was not successful and ceased in November 2008.
In November 2007, National Express announced plans to re-brand all of their operations under a new unified National Express identity. It was intended to achieve greater recognition for all the group companies, to coincide with recent acquisitions and after current rail operations had improved in reliability to warrant association with the established express coach image. It coincided with the appointment of a group director for all UK operations and relocation of the head office from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, bringing all operations under a single strategic management structure. Day-to-day management remains within individual companies.''
Buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...
'' December 2007, Ian Allan Publishing
In December 2007,
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...
commenced operating the
InterCity East Coast
InterCity East Coast is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom from London King's Cross to Hull, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. It wa ...
franchise. In May 2009, National Express sold Travel London and Travel Surrey to
Abellio
Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god o ...
.
In February 2013,
National Express Germany
National Express Germany is a railway operator in Germany. A subsidiary of National Express, it commenced trading in December 2015.
History
In February 2013 National Express was awarded two regional rail contracts in Germany by the Verkehrsver ...
was awarded two regional rail contracts by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland and Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe authorities that commenced in December 2015.
In January 2015, the
Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft
Bayerische Eisenbahngesellschaft (BEG; German for ''Bavarian Railways Company'') is the passenger transport company for regional railways in Bavaria. Founded in 1995, it is organised as a GmbH wholly owned by the Bavarian Government. The company ...
announced that National Express had been selected to operate the Nuremberg S-Bahn system from December 2018. It was to have been the first
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the ...
S-Bahn network to be taken over by a private operator. However, in October 2016, National Express elected to pull out, citing a delay in the ability to order new rolling stock while a challenge brought on by Deutsche Bahn was resolved, would make its bid unviable.
In June 2015, it was announced that the parts 2 and 3 of the Rhein-Ruhr-Express which will be introduced in 2018 will be operated by National Express. This includes Regional-Express services RE4, RE5 and RE6 in Northrhine-Westphalia.
In December 2016, coach operator Clarkes of London was purchased with 56 vehicles. In March 2020, Lucketts Travel was purchased.
Default on East Coast rail franchise
In July 2009, the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
announced that it would take the
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...
franchise into public ownership at the end of the year after National Express announced it would not invest any further funds into the franchise, effectively declaring it planned to default. Directly Operated Railways took over the East Coast franchise on 14 November 2009. Also in November 2009 the government announced that National Express East Anglia would not be granted a three-year extension that it had otherwise qualified for, because of the East Coast default.
Operational safety concerns
On 3 January 2007, a speeding National Express coach overturned on the M4/ M25 slip road, leaving three passengers dead. The driver was jailed for five years.
In July 2009, a junior transport minister, the Gillingham MP Paul Clark, spelled out a series of concerns to National Express in a letter following a meeting with an employee of National Express East Coast who lives in his constituency. The worker claimed that due to reduced maintenance checks, some trains were in use with defective brakes, an allegation strongly denied by the company, which said it would "never compromise on safety". He wrote: "As a result of reduced maintenance checks, 'some long-haul sets rainsare in use with brake defects'. Increasing cuts in staff combined with an increasing pressure to ensure that trains run safely has resulted in fears among staff that a major accident is 'just around the corner'." Passengers, he added, "have been 'poisoned' as a result of coffee machines not being cleaned correctly, with cleaning fluids left in situ". The minister said he was "shocked and appalled at the information with which I've been provided. You will understand that these allegations are exceptionally serious".
School bus drivers in the US have raised concerns about the safety of the buses run by Durham, a subsidiary of National Express, and the second-largest operator of school bus services in North America. According to representatives of Durham bus drivers, fluid leaks, tyres that need to be replaced, black mould and non-functional emergency equipment are regular concerns, whilst workers continued to operate buses while sick because they cannot afford to miss a day of work and drivers are not paid for all the time they work.
Offers for the company
With the company's finances under stress largely as a result of having overbid for the
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...
rail franchise, National Express became a takeover target in 2009. In June 2009, a takeover offer from fellow transport operator
FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland. On 3 September 2009, National Express' largest shareholder, Spain's Cosmen family with 18.5%, and
CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, Eu ...
made a takeover offer of £765 million for the company. The
Takeover Panel
The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, or more commonly The Takeover Panel, is the United Kingdom's regulatory body charged with the administration of The Takeover Code.
It was set up in 1968 and is located in London, England.
Its role is to ens ...
set a deadline of 11 September 2009 for all prospective bids.
National Express agreed to allow the Cosmen/CVC consortium to undertake
due diligence
Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care.
It can be a ...
in September 2009. The Cosmen/CVC consortium had reached an agreement to sell the UK bus and rail operations to
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom.
History
Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early ...
if its offer was successful. The deadline for offers was subsequently extended to 16 October 2009.
On 16 October 2009, the Cosmen/CVC consortium withdrew their offer. with Stagecoach submitting a new all-share bid later the same day. This too did not proceed and in November 2009 National Express announced it would raise the necessary capital through a share issue. In September 2021, National Express entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach Group. In December 2021, a deal was agreed between the boards of the two companies: however, it was subject to both shareholder approval and regulatory scrutiny. Having originally recommended shareholders accept the National Express offer, in March 2022 the Stagecoach board of directors withdrew its recommendation in favour of a takeover offer from a DWS managed investment fund.
Operations
National Express' operations are summarised below:National Express Group: Our businesses National Express
Europe
Bus and coach
The bus and coach services operated by the group are:
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, a subsidiary of National Express West Midlands)
=Coach
=
*
National Express Coaches
National Express is an intercity and Inter-regional coach operator providing services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of National Express Group. Most services are subcontracted to local coach companies. The company's head office i ...
(long-distance express and airport coach services in the UK)
*National Express Transport Solutions
** Lucketts Travel (private coach hire)
** The Kings Ferry (commuter services and private coach hire)
**Stewarts Coaches (private coach hire and tours)
**Clarkes of London (commuter services and private coach hire)
**Woods Coaches (private coach hire and tours)
**Worthing Coaches (private coach hire and tours)
**Mortons Travel (private coach hire and tours)
**Coliseum Coaches (private coach hire and tours)
**Solent Coaches (private coach hire and tours)
* ALSA including Continental-Auto (coach services in Spain and Western Europe)
* In 2016, National Express coach tickets are distributed through Europe by the online booking platform SoBus.
Railway
National Express Germany
National Express Germany is a railway operator in Germany. A subsidiary of National Express, it commenced trading in December 2015.
History
In February 2013 National Express was awarded two regional rail contracts in Germany by the Verkehrsver ...
operates a number of train services in the German state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
.
*
Wupper-Express
The Wupper-Express (RE 4) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) running from Aachen via Mönchengladbach, Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Hagen to Dortmund. The service is operated every hour by DB Regio NRW. It ...
(RE 4), from December 2020
* Rhein-Express (RE/RRX 5), from June 2019
* Westfalen-Express (RE/RRX 6), from December 2019
*
Rhein-Münsterland-Express
The Rhein-Münsterland-Express (RE 7) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The hourly service initially runs to the south east from Krefeld via Neuss to Cologne and then turns to run to the northeast ...
(RE 7), from December 2015
*
Rhein-Wupper-Bahn
The Rhein-Wupper-Bahn is a Regionalbahn service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It connects the cities of Wuppertal, Solingen, Leverkusen, Cologne and Bonn and it is operated by National Express.
Route
The line runs mainly over t ...
(RB 48), from December 2015
Following the financial difficulties of Abellio GmbH, National Express was awarded an emergency contract to operate further services in North Rhine-Westphalia from February 2022 to run for two years.
*
NRW-Express
The NRW-Express is a Regional-Express rail service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Aachen via Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund to Hamm as line RE 1. The line is part of the Rhine- ...
(RE/RRX 1) Aachen-Hamm
*
Rhein-Hellweg-Express
The Rhein-Hellweg-Express (RE 11) is a Regional-Express service in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), running from Hamm via Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Duisburg and Düsseldorf Airport to Düsseldorf Hbf. It is named after the Rhine ...
(RE11) Düsseldorf-Kassel.
USA and Canada
Bus
*National Express Transit (transit and paratransit bus operation in the US, formed in 2012)
** JATRAN
**
Kern Transit
KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Me ...
**
Manteca Transit
Manteca Transit is a public transit agency in the California city of Manteca. It operates routes from the Manteca Transit Center, where it is based. The agency offers four local fixed routes connecting local shopping and job centers with neigh ...
SolTrans
SolTrans, officially Solano County Transit, is a Joint Powers Authority that provides public transportation service to the southern Solano County cities of Vallejo and Benicia. SolTrans was established in 2011 and is the result of a merger bet ...
Westmoreland County Transit Authority
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority (WCTA) is the operator of mass transportation in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Using 35 buses, a total of 18 routes are operated, the majority of which serve the urbanized corridor that makes up the ...
*A&S Transportation (school bus operations in Florida)
*A1A Transportation (school bus operations in Florida)
*Aristocrat Limousine and Bus (limo and charter bus service in New Jersey)
*Cook DuPage Transportation (paratransit service in Chicago area)
*Diamond Transportation (paratransit and shuttle service in Washington, DC area, acquired 2016)
* Durham School Services (school bus operation in the US)
*Monroe School Transportation (school and charter bus operations in Rochester, New York)
*New Dawn Transit (school bus operations in New York City)
*Petermann Transportation (school bus and special service bus operation in US, acquired 2011)
*Quality Bus Service (school bus operations in Orange County, New York)
*Queen City Transportation (school and charter bus operations in Ohio, acquired 2017)
* Stock Transportation (school bus operation in Canada)
*Suburban Paratransit (paratransit service in New York)
*Total Transit (transit and paratransit service in Arizona)
*Trans Express (shuttle, charter, tour, and casino service in New York, acquired 2015)
*Trinity Transportation (charter and school service in Michigan, acquired 2017)
*White Plains Bus (charter service in New York)
*In July 2014, National Express partners with Canadian-based online booking platform Busbud.
Middle East
Bus
In February 2015, the Bahrain Public Transport Company in which National Express holds a 50% shareholding commenced operating a 10-year concession in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...
.
Former operations
Europe
Bus and coach
=Bus
=
In May 2009, National Express sold some of its bus operations to
Abellio
Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god o ...
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
and South West London – a subsidiary of Travel London)
In December 2020, National Express sold its Xplore Dundee business to
McGill's Bus Services
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.Scottish Citylink
Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and England (where it operates as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in ...
sold to Metroline in August 1998 in order to comply with a Competition Commission requirement for National Express to operate the
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...
rail franchise
* City2City an express coach services in Germany that ceased on 14 October 2014.
Railway and tram
=Railway
=
Rail franchises formerly operated:
* Wales & Borders passed to
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...
in December 2003
*
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise ...
Greater Western franchise
Greater Western is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services from London Paddington to the Cotswolds, West of England, South West England and South Wales. The current holder is Great Western Railway.
History
In 2003, as part of ...
and passed to
First Great Western
Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.West Anglia Great Northern split into two parts: West Anglia services transferred to National Express East Anglia April 2004, Great Northern services passed to First Capital Connect in April 2006
*In November 2007 several franchises were lost in a general restructure:
** Central Trains split between
CrossCountry
CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise.
The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT ...
,
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.
Following the Department for Transport (DfT) award of ...
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains (EMT) was a British train operating company owned by the transport group Stagecoach, which operated the East Midlands franchise between November 2007 and August 2019.
Following the Department for Transport (DfT) award of ...
franchise
** Silverlink split between London Midland and
London Overground
London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
franchise in June 2008
*
National Express East Coast
National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...
Trenitalia
Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...
West Midlands Metro
The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmi ...
=
National Express had a 17.5% shareholding in London & Continental Railways (L&CR) from its formation in September 1994 until it was nationalised by the
Government of the United Kingdom
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, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
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in 2009. L&CR was responsible for building the
High Speed 1
High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel.
It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe ...
project. National Express also held a 40% stake in the Inter-Capital and Regional Rail consortium which held the management contract for the UK arm of the Eurostar operation, L&CR's subsidiary
In the 1990s National Express moved into the privatisation of airports, purchasing
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...
,
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
, and Humberside Airports. In a move to concentrate on bus and rail provision, Humberside was sold to
Manchester Airports Group
Manchester Airport Holdings Limited, trading as MAG (originally Manchester Airports Group) is a holding company which is owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, in North West England, and Australian investment fu ...
in 1999 followed by Bournemouth and East Midlands in February 2001.
Until November 2007 the group also operated Stewart International Airport in
New Windsor, New York
New Windsor is a town in Orange County, New York, United States.
History
The region was originally inhabited by the Munsee people, part of the Lenape confederation. The first European settlers were colonists from Scotland who arrived in ...
. However, the lease was sold to the public
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
.
Australian operations
Bus and coach
Australian bus companies previously operated:
* Westbus and Hillsbus in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
, sold to ComfortDelGro Cabcharge in 2005. Westbus ceased operating in 2013.
*Blue Ribbon in the
Hunter Region
The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and s ...
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
, sold to Ventura Bus Lines in 2004, ceased operating in 2013.
*National Bus Company,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
Transdev Queensland
Transdev Queensland Bus is an Australian operator of bus services in the Redland City region of Brisbane. It operates 31 services under contract to the Government of Queensland under the TransLink banner. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Australa ...
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, sold to Connex in 2004, now operating as Transdev WA.
Railway and tram
In 1999, the Group gained the Australian franchises M>Train, M>Tram and V/Line Passenger, following the privatisation of rail and tram services by the
Government of Victoria
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and ...
. After incurring large losses and being unable to renegotiate the franchise contracts, the operations were handed back to the State Government. M>Train was re-let to Connex and M>Tram to
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
History
The group was formed by the merger of ...
. V/Line became a government-owned corporation.
USA and Canada
Bus and coach
*ATC (transit and paratransit operations in the United States and Canada, sold to Veolia Environnement in 2005 and since renamed
Veolia Transport
Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
).
*
Yuma County Area Transit
The Yuma County Area Transit (YCAT) system is a public transportation system based in Yuma County, Arizona. Since 1990 the agency has grown from a new transit service offering paratransit to the current mix of fixed-route and demand-responsiv ...
* Arlington Transit (transit and paratransit operations in the United States from 2009 to 2019, transferred to First Transit in 2019)
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...
Plaxton Pointer
The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis Pointer) was a single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly built by Alex ...
Byfleet
Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation.
The village is of medieval origin. Its wind ...
in December 2008
File:Central Trains 153375 at Lincoln Central 01.jpg, Central TrainsClass 153 at Lincoln in May 2004
File:317655 at Cambridge.JPG,
One
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
Class 317
The British Rail Class 317 is an electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger train constructed by British Rail Engineering Limited in two batches, 48 sets being produced in 1981–82 and 24 sets in 1985–87. They were the first of several classes ...
at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
in August 2001
File:Upminster station MMB 15 357046.jpg,