Spurned rail operator says it was on track for profit

Published on Sunday 13 June 2004 00:03

NATIONAL Express, which lost out on the ScotRail franchise last week, was close to turning a post-subsidy profit on the service.

According to the company, it was "on target" to break even after years of losses and expected to move into profit during the next franchise period. Losses in 2001 were more than 50m but fell to 10m in 2002 - the last that were available.

The Scottish Executive last week awarded the next seven-year franchise to rival transport company FirstGroup, a decision that surprised many in the industry, who believed National Express was beginning to combat problems of overcrowding and unreliability.

A spokeswoman for National Express, which has run the service since 1997, said: "We now know this business and what needs to be done. We would have been making a profit."

She said the company did not want a franchise that would continue to be a drain on the bottom line, but growth in passenger numbers, together with improvements made to the service, meant there was the potential to make money.

"ScotRail is one of the fastest-growing and we could see the potential. That should mean we could make a profitable business," she said.

National Express had managed to achieve a number of performance targets which had been noted by rail passenger groups.

FirstGroup, whose operational headquarters is in Aberdeen, will begin running the service in October.