Govia to invest £430 million in Thameslink and Great Northern franchise

Govia, which is 65% owned by Newcastle’s Go Ahead group, began running its Thameslink and Great Northern rail services last weekend.

The first phase of the new Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which is the largest rail franchise in the UK, is the second of its kind of start operating under the Government’s franchising programme.

There will be a £430 million investment in the GTR franchise during its seven-year term, bringing improvements for passengers including increased services and increased train capacity.

In July 2015 the Southern and Gatwick Express routes will be incorporated into GTR, and a small number of services and stations currently operated by Southeastern will transfer to the franchise in December 2014.

Charles Horton, GTR chief executive, said: “I’m very excited to be leading the team dedicated to running the UK’s biggest franchise. Over time we will be making real improvements to passengers’ experience and managing the major changes that are happening on this part of the rail network.

“We’ve listened to what people want, and will be increasing capacity on busy commuter services, improving reliability and punctuality, introducing three new fleets of trains, spending £50 million on station improvements, and investing in our employees’ training and development.

“There’s no underestimating the challenge of the task ahead. But I’m confident that we have the people and the plans in place to make a real difference to the service we give our passengers, and that for our staff GTR will be a great place to work.”

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