LONDON (Reuters) - Three bidders are in the running to take control of rail services in the east of England, the British government said on Tuesday, shortlisting Abellio East Anglia, First East Anglia and National Express East Anglia for the contract.
The operators are competing to run the franchise from October 2016. The government has asked bidders to show how they will improve reliability and journey times on the region's railways.
Abellio, a joint venture between Dutch company Abellio and Britain's Stagecoach (L:SGC), has run the line since 2012, while National Express (L:NEX) is a former operator of trains in the region.
The third bidder is part of FirstGroup (L:FGP), a company whose UK train business suffered a heavy blow last year when it failed to win contracts to continue running three rail networks and also lost out on bids for new franchises.