Arriva Trains Wales, which has run most of Wales’ train services since 2003, has pulled out of the tender to continue running it from 2018. “We will continue to work constructively with Transport for Wales to help make the next franchise a success and build upon the legacy that Arriva has built with Arriva Trains Wales,” Arriva said in a statement.
“Arriva Rail Wales have notified Transport for Wales that they intend to withdraw from the bidding process for the next Wales and Borders rail franchise. It is not uncommon for bidders for major projects to withdraw during the tender process and Arriva have been clear they have done this for their own commercial reasons,” a spokeswoman for Transport for Wales said.
The three remaining bidders in the contest are now Abellio, KeolisAmey and MTR. The final tenders are due later this year. Responsibility for the process of finding a company to run the services is set to be devolved from 2018. Whoever is successful will run the rail network – apart from some inter-city services – and will launch a new integrated transport network, the South Wales Metro.
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