|
|
Article: National Express in front for Gatwick rail franchise
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- March 23, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
National Express, the coach company, has emerged as the
surprise preferred bidder for the Gatwick Express rail franchise,
beating off bids from Virgin and the management buyout team which
had linked in with British Airways.
Disappointed bidders for the Gatwick Express franchise were
yesterday told of their failure to gain preferred bidder status and
National Express has now entered a two-week sole negotiation period
with the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising.
There has been consternation in the City over the leaky nature
of the bidding process. One insider said that this was partly as a
result of OPRAF's refusal to publish any information about the