The UK's Stagecoach Group has been awarded the new East Midlands rail franchise which will connect the UK with the rest of Europe.
The East Midlands rail franchise – worth £235m – will operate trains from the new St Pancras International station, providing direct connections with Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels following the opening of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Stagecoach plans a £26.5m fleet interior and performance improvement programme including on-train CCTV and technical modifications. The company is also preparing for a significant increase in capacity, with more than 850 extra mainline peak seats into and out of London.
The new rail link is due to run from 11 November 2007.
