A £5 billion contract to run Wales’ rail service and oversee the South Wales Metro project has been awarded to two French and Spanish companies.
The joint venture between French-owned Keolis and Spain’s Amey will take over the Wales and Borders rail franchise from Arriva in October and will run services for the next 15 years.
Arriva pulled out of the bidding last year.
A statement by the Welsh Government said: “Final tenders were received from three companies in December 2017.
“One of those tenders was subsequently withdrawn and the two remaining bids were evaluated, with each bid being assessed for its quality, robustness and ability to deliver on the Welsh Government’s policy priorities, as set out in ‘Rail Services for the Future’.
“Throughout the procurement process we have prioritised investment in the quality of trains, stations and services for the Wales and Borders Rail Service and South Wales Metro.”
Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Keolis UK, said it would be a transformative new rail service and see it combine its worldwide expertise in passenger operations with Amey’s “engineering excellence”.
Andy Milner, Amey’s chief executive, said: “While the proposed changes won’t happen overnight, the railway will be unrecognisable in five years thanks to the vision of the Welsh Government.”
The not-for-profit company Transport for Wales, owned by the Welsh Government, will regulate fares and will not be expected to rise more than inflation.
The RMT union’s General Secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT policy is for a national integrated railway under public ownership and the Welsh government has made it clear that this is their aspiration as well if they did not have to work under the pro privatisation legislative straight jacket imposed by the UK Government.
“The fact that rail privatisation is being enforced on the people of Wales by Whitehall is even more galling when the Tories have been forced to nationalise East Coast and the Westminster Cross Party Public Accounts Committee have said the rail franchising model is broken.
“However, RMT welcomes the fact that despite these constraints the Welsh Government has committed to keep a guard on every train alongside other commitments to work with RMT to protect jobs and conditions of rail workers in Wales.”