79-830: Megatrain was a provider of low-cost train travel in the United Kingdom. A subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group , its operations have been associated with its parent's East Midlands Trains , South West Trains , Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin Trains West Coast train operating companies. Even though Stagecoach ceased operating train franchises in its own right in August 2019, Megatrain services continued to operate on East Midlands Railway services. In May 2024 Megabus confirmed they were no longer offering
158-619: A 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise; the franchise was terminated early three years later as it was unable to fulfil the agreed payments. During April 2019, private equity house Variant acquired Stagecoach's US division in exchange for $ 271 million. In April 2019, Stagecoach was disqualified from participating in three rail franchise competitions by the Department for Transport after it submitted non-compliant bids. During September 2021, it
237-564: A closure at London Waterloo and reduction in service levels. The South Western franchise was taken over by South Western Railway a few weeks later. However, after the East Midlands franchise passed to East Midlands Railway in August 2019, Megatrain tickets continued to be available from London to Nottingham although this had ceased by May 2024. East Midlands Parkway (with connecting Megabusplus services to Yorkshire) added 20 March 2009 Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group
316-545: A competition enquiry instructed Stagecoach to sell some of its Scottish coach services. Stagecoach was also active in the passenger rail market, having a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group . During 2007, the group were successful in their bid for the new East Midlands franchise, which had been created by amalgamating the previous Midland Mainline franchise with the eastern part of the former Central Trains franchise. During July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating
395-591: A deal was agreed between the boards of the two companies: however, it was subject to both shareholder approval and regulatory scrutiny. To satisfy the Competition & Markets Authority , Stagecoach had planned to sell Megabus, its 35% shareholding in Scottish Citylink and the Falcon Coaches part of Stagecoach South West to ComfortDelGro . Having originally recommended shareholders accept
474-414: A disused suburban station, was put back into service as the temporary terminus of the line. It closed again when Norwich re-opened. The signalling was also modernised at that time and the track layout simplified. On completion of the electrification project, Norwich- London InterCity trains switched from being hauled by Class 47 diesel locomotives to Class 86 electric locomotives. On 1 April 1994, under
553-538: A later tram-train service to Rotherham . Future plans included schemes to Dore , Fulwood and Maltby ; following consultations, a reduced scheme with an extension to Broomhill was being considered as of 2017. The concession expired in March 2024, with the operation of Supertram returning to the public sector. Stagecoach ran the South West Trains franchise from February 1996 to August 2017. It retained
632-464: A number of so-called " no-frills " services across the United Kingdom and the United States. Applying the business model of the low-cost carrier air lines, these services aim to offer cheaper alternatives to the established operators in the bus, coach and rail markets, by reducing costs, and offering extremely low fares for the earliest bookings, rising nearer the journey time: Magic Bus was
711-590: A scheduled British Rail InterCity sleeper service. Virgin Rail Group operated the CrossCountry franchise as Virgin CrossCountry from January 1997 until November 2007 when it passed to Arriva . Virgin Trains East Coast , in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, operated the InterCity East Coast franchise from March 2015 to June 2018. The group has held a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group since October 1998. Virgin Rail Group operated
790-555: Is a low cost, " no-frills " intercity coach service launched in the United Kingdom by Stagecoach in 2003, on 10 April 2006 in the United States, and in 2009 within Canada. Its main rival in the UK is National Express , who have had to lower their prices to compete with Megabus. In the US, Megabus/Eastern Shuttle's main rival is BoltBus , which is 50% owned by Stagecoach rival FirstGroup . In the UK,
869-595: Is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland . It operates buses and express coaches in the United Kingdom . Stagecoach was originally founded in 1976 as Gloagtrotter , a recreational vehicle and minibus hire business. During the early 1980s, it took advantage of the deregulation of the British express coach market , launching services from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches, competing against
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#1732783547447948-436: Is leased to various train operators. Porterbrook was privatised via a management buyout before being purchased by Stagecoach for £825 million during August 1996. The acquisition garnered some public controversy and political criticism for the low value returned to the taxpayer. In April 2000, Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to the British banking group Abbey National in exchange for £1.44 billion. In 1997, Stagecoach
1027-473: Is the current and only remaining station and still known locally as "Thorpe station". Norwich Victoria was the terminus for some passenger services from London until 1916, as well as being a goods station until its demolition in the 1970s. Norwich City was the terminus of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line from Melton Constable until it was closed to passengers in 1959. The original station
1106-537: Is the use of London Victoria Coach Station . On 14 November 2005, the Megabus concept was extended to certain rail services, with the introduction of Megatrain between London and Southampton , and London and Portsmouth , using a dedicated carriage on selected South West Trains services. It was later extended to some Virgin Trains services (since withdrawn) and to selected East Midlands Trains services. In 2009,
1185-583: The 20 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (33 km) line was completed within a year. There was an inspection and inaugural run on 12 April 1844 and a ceremonial opening on 30 April 1844, followed the next day by the beginning of regular passenger services. On 18 May 1844, 17 days after the Y&;NR started running train services, Parliament gave the Royal Assent to the Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR). This
1264-680: The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was formed by the amalgamation. Actually, Norwich Thorpe and Norwich Victoria became GER stations on 1 July 1862, when the GER took over the ECR and the EUR before the Bill had received the Royal Assent. A decade after the GER was formed, the latter promoted a new line from Norwich to Cromer . That line was opened on 20 October 1874 and a new station was constructed at
1343-701: The InterCity West Coast franchise as Virgin Trains West Coast from March 1997 until December 2019. In 1999, Stagecoach purchased the school bus operations of Sunbus in the Cairns , Ipswich and Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland . These were sold in 2002 to: In 1994, Stagecoach created a bus-operating subsidiary in Hong Kong which operated residential bus services. It ceased operation in April 1996. During 1999, Stagecoach planned to become
1422-772: The Manchester Metrolink tram network. In January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus , a former rival in the Lancashire area. In November 2009, the Competition Commission intervened, ordering Stagecoach to sell Preston Bus after it had adversely affected competition in the area. In October 2010, Stagecoach expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent , Stagecoach's former London bus operations. During August 2011, Stagecoach sold its Manchester Metrolink concession to RATP Group halfway through its ten-year contract to operate
1501-831: The Manchester Piccadilly to East Didsbury Wilmslow Road bus corridor route in Manchester , but also in Newcastle upon Tyne and East Scotland (as Magic Mini). In 2008 Stagecoach Merseyside introduced a Magic Bus service competing with themselves and Arriva North West on the busy route 14 corridor, Magic Bus 14C runs every 7/8 minutes between City Centre and Broadway. By 2012, only the Manchester Magic Bus remained, these being upgraded from Volvo Olympians and Dennis Dragons to Alexander ALX400 and East Lancs bodied Dennis Trident 2s . Megabus
1580-515: The 1990s by purchasing ex NBC and SBG bus companies that had been purchased via management buyouts and employee-owned corporations when privatised. In 1988, Stagecoach withdrew from the long-distance express coach market, selling its operations to National Express. During the privatisation of British Rail , Porterbrook was formed as one of three rolling stock companies owning around a third of passenger railway locomotives, multiple units and coaching stock running on Network Rail 's system which
1659-494: The Barraqueiro bus company, but another part, serving the area to the west of Lisbon, became Stagecoach Portugal in 1995. A further portion still operates as Vimeca – Viação Mecânica de Carnaxide. During June 2001, Stagecoach announced the sale of their Portuguese operations to ScottURB for £14 million. In October 1996, during Stagecoach's International buying spree, it made its most important international acquisition at
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#17327835474471738-584: The Central Trains franchise was broken up and West Midlands services to Norwich were taken over by East Midlands Trains . The National Express East Anglia franchise passed to Abellio Greater Anglia on 5 February 2012. All services operated by East Midlands Trains were transferred to East Midlands Railway in August 2019, after EMT's franchise expired. The station is served by Greater Anglia and East Midlands Railway . The typical off-peak service frequency (Monday to Saturday) is: Norwich engine shed
1817-539: The ECR naming its station Norwich Thorpe. On 27 August 1851, EUR services from Ipswich started serving the better-placed Thorpe station. By the 1860s, the railways in East Anglia were in financial trouble and most were leased to the Eastern Counties Railway . They wanted to amalgamate them formally, but government agreement could not be obtained until an Act of Parliament on 7 August 1862, when
1896-591: The GER reopened Trowse station. The GER went out of existence following the creation of the "Big Four" railway companies in 1923. On 1 January 1923, the GER amalgamated with several other railways to form the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). This was as a result of the Railways Act 1921 , which saw most of the 120 railway companies grouped into four main companies, in an effort to stem their losses. Norwich Thorpe became an LNER asset. During World War II
1975-683: The Lea Interchange Bus Company Limited license. Later in August, Stagecoach acquired the London operations of the HCT Group after the company had fallen into administration , with Stagecoach acquiring a further 160 buses, 17 TfL route contracts and two bus garages from the acquisition. Stagecoach Group plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange . Founder Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag were
2054-605: The Megabus network covers most of the island of Great Britain, although some routes offer only one journey per day. Originally operated using high capacity, but older coach-seated vehicles, most services are now operated with new modern single or double deck coaches. In the United States, services radiate from Chicago and New York City, but the networks are not connected. In both the UK and the US, to cut costs, most services use on-street bus stops, rather than pay for access to coach stations (except in cases where pre-existing routes were converted to Megabus lines). A notable exception to this
2133-501: The Megabus website or by telephone. Megatrain tickets are available Monday to Saturday only, and not on Sundays or public holidays. Megatrain was launched by Stagecoach on 14 November 2005, being piloted on two South West Trains routes, from London Waterloo to Portsmouth and Southampton from 14 November 2005 with ticket prices ranging from £1 to £19. Standard timetabled services by South West Trains initially had designated areas for Megatrain customers. On 20 April 2006, Megatrain
2212-598: The Megabusplus concept was introduced, under which certain trips are begun on a train and are then completed on a bus. Unlike the original Megatrain concept, this service is available seven days a week. In September 2005, Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro announced a joint venture in the provision of express coach services in Scotland, ending intense competition between ComfortDelGro's subsidiary Scottish Citylink and Stagecoach subsidiaries Megabus and Motorvator . Under
2291-457: The Megatrain service. Megatrain tickets were available on specific services operated by East Midlands Railway . The available services are those that are generally not busy with tickets priced using the yield management model employed by low-cost airlines and sister company Megabus , where the lowest fares were offered to those who book early or on less popular journeys. In addition to
2370-638: The National Express offer, in March 2022 the board of directors withdrew the recommendation in favour of a takeover offer from a DWS managed investment fund. Following this, Stagecoach instead sold Megabus and Falcon Coaches to Scottish Citylink and increased its shareholding in the joint venture to 37.5% in return. In June 2022, Stagecoach purchased London bus operator Tower Transit 's Lea Interchange garage, with Stagecoach London taking on 150 buses and 11 Transport for London bus route contracts; operations from Lea Interchange are managed under
2449-789: The Railways Act 1993, ownership of the station passed to a new private company, Railtrack , which was transferred to the state-controlled non-profit Network Rail in October 2002 after experiencing financial difficulties. Train services to Norwich were later privatised, with most services passing to Anglia Railways in January 1997. Services towards the West Midlands were taken over by Central Trains in March 1997. Anglia trains handed over their franchise to National Express East Anglia in 2004. Three years later, on 11 November 2007,
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2528-482: The Traffic Commissioner, brought new opportunities for the company and services were launched from Dundee to London using second-hand Neoplan coaches. For a while, the company offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag preparing sandwiches and other snacks for the passengers. Between 1981 and 1985, the company grew significantly, successfully competing against
2607-588: The UK capital. During 2007, Stagecoach was awarded the East Midlands franchise . In July 2007, it commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. During January 2009, Stagecoach purchased Preston Bus , a former rival in the Lancashire area, but was promptly compelled to sell it by the Competition Commission . In October 2010, it expanded further by re-acquiring East London and Selkent , Stagecoach's former London bus operations. During March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast , in which Stagecoach held
2686-419: The UK via the acquisition of the recently-privatised leasing company Porterbrook ; it sold the company on four years later. In 1997, Stagecoach was awarded the franchise to operate the recently privatised Sheffield Supertram system. In 1998, it purchased Prestwick Airport . Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside
2765-431: The business was sold to Infratil and rebranded as NZ Bus . Stagecoach carried out bus operations in the northeastern and midwestern United States and in eastern Canada. Businesses were focused on commuter services, and included tour and charter, sightseeing, local, and school bus operations: In December 2018, Stagecoach announced it had agreed to sell all of its North American operations to Variant Equity Advisors with
2844-563: The commission, some Citylink routes were sold to Parks Motor Group in early 2008. Norwich railway station Norwich railway station (formerly Norwich Thorpe ) is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England , serving the cathedral city of Norwich , Norfolk. It is 114 miles 77 chains (185.0 km) down the main line (measured via Ipswich) from London Liverpool Street ,
2923-469: The company announced that it would legally challenge the disqualification. The group rebranded again in February 2020, with a new set of liveries introduced for the group's British bus operations. Three colour schemes were to be used to reduce customer confusion: During September 2021, it was reported that rival company National Express entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach Group. In December 2021,
3002-472: The deal concluded in April 2019. Stagecoach Portugal had its origins in the re-privatisation of Portuguese bus and coach operation, which had been nationalised after the 1974 Revolution . In 1990, the nationalised Rodoviária Nacional was split into ten components. In the capital, Lisbon , Rodoviária de Lisboa was the chief operator outside the city itself, where Carris provided city bus and tram services. The name of Rodoviária de Lisboa survived as part of
3081-541: The firm and expanded the business into bus hire. In 1982, following the collapse of his marriage to Ann, Robin Gloag sold his ownership stake in the business and ceased any involvement. Around this time, the company would benefit greatly from the deregulation of the British express coach market in the early 1980s ; specifically, the Transport Act 1980 , which freed express services of 35 miles and over from regulation by
3160-521: The first no-frills brand of Stagecoach. It was first used in red lettering on ex London Regional Transport AEC Routemasters , otherwise painted in Stagecoach stripes, in competition in Glasgow. Later, an allover blue with yellow lettering was adopted, on older service buses with simple fares and no travel passes, usually operated on routes with strong competition from other operators, most notably on
3239-463: The following brands that extend across operating divisions. The Stagecoach Group number their buses using a system that applies for the life of the bus or until it is sold, as follows: Stagecoach commenced operating the new East Midlands Trains franchise in November 2007 that took over all of Midland Mainline 's and some of Central Trains services. During August 2019, it ceased operating when
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3318-437: The franchise for three years from February 2004 and for a further 10 years from February 2007. The franchise passed to First MTR South Western Railway on 20 August 2017 In 1992, shortly before the privatisation of British Rail , Stagecoach Rail briefly operated a modest InterCity operation between Aberdeen and London. Two British Railways Mark 2 passenger carriages were re-branded in Stagecoach colours and attached to
3397-505: The franchise was taken over by Abellio East Midlands Railway . In July 2007, Stagecoach took over the operation of Manchester Metrolink on a 10-year fixed-term management contract, beating competition from Keolis , Serco and Transdev , to make it the biggest tram operator in the UK. This system was the first modern tram system in the United Kingdom, opening just before the Sheffield system in 1992. Nearly 18 million people ride on
3476-561: The group's Perth headquarters. The group was also rebranded in December 2000, with a new 'beachball' logo designed by Edinburgh design house McKinstrie Wilde Millhouse and a new fleet livery designed by Ray Stenning's Best Impressions design company for the group's buses. The new livery for regional operations consisted of 'swoops' on a grey base that retained the previous livery's red, orange, blue and white colours, while Stagecoach London buses maintained base red with blue and orange 'swoops' to
3555-593: The junction of the Cromer line and Yarmouth & Norwich line. The new station, Whitlingham, stood between Norwich Thorpe and Brundall on the Yarmouth line. With traffic growing, it was apparent a new station was required in Norwich. It was built to the north of the original station, opening on 3 May 1886 and is the structure surviving today. The old terminus became part of the expanded goods facilities. The new station
3634-463: The largest bus company in China through joint ventures, equity stakes and partnerships, and confirmed the £181 million acquisition of Hong Kong's Citybus . Stagecoach acquired control of Citybus Group , which provided franchised bus services on Hong Kong Island and to and from Hong Kong International Airport as well as non-franchised services throughout Hong Kong, in March 1999 and then completed
3713-413: The largest shareholders with a combined 26% shareholding at April 2019. The following is a breakdown of the Stagecoach operating divisions. The centre of each operating region is shown in parentheses. Legal company names are listed alongside the trading names for that company. Bus division operations are as follows: Apart from the ordinary bus operations and no-frills services, the UK bus division has
3792-648: The modern double decker buses back on Kenyan roads. During October 1998 a consortium of investors led by Karanja Kabage as chairman acquired Kenya Bus Services from Stagecoach Holdings which owned 95% of the business. Stagecoach New Zealand was a wholly owned part of the Stagecoach Group, which provided bus services in Auckland , Wellington and the Hutt Valley and nine ferry routes in Auckland. It
3871-503: The need to shunt the carriages out of the station. The GER and Norwich Thorpe changed little for the next 30 years. On 22 May 1916, the GER closed Trowse station as a wartime economy measure. That meant the first station south of Thorpe on the Ipswich line was Swainsthorpe and the next station west of Thorpe on the Ely line was Hethersett. On 1 April 1919, five months after the end of the war,
3950-434: The network. In December 2013, Stagecoach bought King's Lynn based Norfolk Green . During March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast , in which Stagecoach held a 90% shareholding, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise. The East Coast franchise was terminated on 23 June 2018 after it was revealed that Stagecoach had overbid and were thus unable to make the agreed franchise payments. During December 2018, it
4029-802: The passengers carried by either South West Trains or Virgin CrossCountry bought a Megatrain low-fare ticket. The CrossCountry routes were withdrawn on 10 November 2007 when the CrossCountry franchise passed to Arriva CrossCountry . On 2 January 2008, the Megatrain concept was extended to certain rail services on the East Midlands Trains franchise, with the introduction of Megatrain between London St Pancras and Sheffield and Nottingham . On 14 July 2008, Megatrain tickets were made available on certain Virgin Trains West Coast services from Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. On 5 January 2009 Megatrain
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#17327835474474108-474: The point-to-point rail fares of Megatrain, Megabusplus provided combined rail and coach journeys between London and Yorkshire . East Midlands Railway services from London St Pancras connect with Stagecoach in Lincolnshire coach services to Huddersfield and Hull at East Midlands Parkway . Prices were advertised as starting at £1, with a 50p booking fee. Tickets must be purchased in advance, via
4187-546: The privatisation of Citybus on 17 July 1999. In June 2003, the operation was sold to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises , the parent company of the major rival operator New World First Bus . In November 1991, Stagecoach Holdings (as it was named then), bought United Transport's shareholding in Kenya Bus Services. During its tenure, Stagecoach rapidly expanded the fleet, introducing the Express Services and
4266-413: The purchase of Scotland's Prestwick Airport in exchange for £41 million. By the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. In January 2001, Stagechoach opted to sell the airport for £33 million to concentrate on surface transport. In late 2000, Stagecoach UK's bus operations were rationalised into twelve subsidiary companies managed from
4345-699: The rear of the bus. A blue-based standard interior for new buses was also introduced, with the first UK buses featuring the group's new identity entering service in January 2001. On 21 November 2005, Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil . On 14 December 2005, Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group ( Yorkshire Traction ) for £26 million, and also assume Traction's £11 million debt. Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire (Yorkshire Traction, Barnsley & District, Yorkshire Terrier ), Lincolnshire ( RoadCar ) and Angus ( Strathtay Scottish ). Traction
4424-543: The station on 15 December 1845, which offered a route to Shoreditch in London via Cambridge and Bishop's Stortford . The Eastern Union Railway (EUR) was building a line towards Norwich and that led to great rivalry between the EUR and the ECR. The ECR trumped the EUR by taking over the Norfolk Railway, including Norwich Station, on 8 May 1848. The following year, the EUR started services to Norwich Victoria. The opening of Norwich Victoria on 12 December 1849 led to
4503-572: The station was bombed in June 1940 and April 1942. Following the Transport Act 1947 the Big Four railway companies, including the LNER, were amalgamated into the nationalised British Railways (BR). On 1 January 1948, the nationalisation of Britain's railways saw the operation of Norwich Thorpe station pass to British Railways (Eastern Region) . Platform 6 was added in 1954 and a modern booking hall
4582-662: The system a year. Stagecoach sold the Metrolink business to RATP Group in August 2011. Stagecoach operated the Sheffield Supertram under a concession from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive between 1997 and 2024. Its average daily ridership is 33,700, equalling more than 12 million per year, well above expectations. At the time of the concession's expiry, there were three light rail transit lines and
4661-567: The system. The franchise, which expired in March 2024, was operated under the Stagecoach Supertram brand, the company having responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the tram system. When Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers; patronage subsequently rose from 7.8 million recorded passenger journeys in 1996/97, to 15.0 million during 2011/12. In 1998, Stagecoach diversified into another transport sector via
4740-509: The terms of the joint venture, the Stagecoach Group acquires a 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd, with Citylink assuming certain rights to the Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland. The Competition Commission ruled in October 2006 that the joint venture substantially reduced competition and that evidence suggested some routes were already experiencing higher fares as a result. Though no firm conclusion
4819-463: The then state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Citylink . Stagecoach entered local bus operation with the acquisition of McLennan of Spittalfield, near Perth. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups. Several firms were purchased from London Regional Transport , the National Bus Company , Scottish Bus Group and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during
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#17327835474474898-446: The then state-owned National Express Coaches and Scottish Citylink . Stagecoach purchased several recently-privatised national bus groups from London Regional Transport , the National Bus Company , Scottish Bus Group and various city councils, as well as pursuing those that had opted for management buyouts and employee-owned corporations . During August 1996, Stagecoach acquired roughly one-third of all passenger rolling stock in
4977-661: The time, buying Swebus AB , the bus-company arm of the Swedish State Railways (SJ), for 1.2 billion kronor ($ 164 million), which also included operations in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The operations in Norway included only city and regional traffic in three minor cities around lake Mjøsa , but several unsuccessful bids on operators in the Oslo area led to Stagecoach selling out to Norgesbuss during April 1997. The Danish operations never proved profitable, and were sold to Combus in autumn of 1997. The operations in Finland were more successful, and were in April 1998 renamed Stagecoach Finland. In spring of 1997, Swebus Express
5056-546: The western terminus. It is also the terminus of numerous secondary lines: the Breckland Line to Cambridge ; the Bittern Line to Sheringham ; and the Wherry Lines to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft . The station is currently managed by Greater Anglia , which also operates the majority of the trains that serve the station. East Midlands Railway operates the services to Liverpool Lime Street via Nottingham , Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly . At one time, there were three railway stations in Norwich. Norwich Thorpe
5135-403: Was a circulating area with a high ceiling and the roof was supported by ironwork supplied by contractor Barnard Bishop and Barnard. The roof extended partly down the platforms, which were then covered by canopies for part of their length. There were initially five platforms, with engine-release roads between platforms 2 and 3, and 4 and 5, which allowed locomotives to be detached from trains without
5214-436: Was announced that private equity house Variant would acquire Stagecoach Group's US division in exchange for $ 271 million; the sale was completed in April 2019. In April 2019, Stagecoach was disqualified from participating in three rail franchise competitions by the Department for Transport after it submitted non-compliant bids for the East Midlands , South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchises. One month later,
5293-419: Was awarded the franchise to operate the recently privatised Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive , who owned the system. Stagecoach bought the remaining 27 years of a 30-year franchise in exchange for £1.15 million, which was substantially below the anticipated £80 million that the councils had hoped to raise to help pay off the accumulated debts to build
5372-404: Was built in 1955. During the late 1950s, steam locomotives were phased out across the East Anglian network and replaced by diesel-powered trains. After Norwich City station was closed as part of the Beeching cuts , British Rail decided to revert the name of the station to Norwich , which took effect on 5 May 1969. When the station closed briefly for electrification works in 1986, Trowse ,
5451-422: Was built, at the cost of £60,000, by Messrs Youngs and Son, of Norwich, from designs by Messrs J Wilson and W. N. Ashbee , the company's engineer and architect respectively. The attractive station building was constructed around a central clock tower (the clock was supplied by Dixons and Co of London Street, Norwich) with two-storey matching wings either side. A portico was built onto the clock-tower section. There
5530-459: Was drawn, regulators are to consult the two companies about what they need to do to comply with competition regulations and they have indicated that this will likely lead to the forced divestment of some services to an independent operator. The ruling was criticised by Stagecoach as leaving vital services in limbo and jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network, making it unable to compete effectively with rail and private car journeys. To satisfy
5609-559: Was extended to Bournemouth and Weymouth followed on 28 April 2006 by London Waterloo to Salisbury , Bath Spa , Bristol Temple Meads , Yeovil Junction , Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids . From 3 July 2006, Megatrain tickets were available on Virgin CrossCountry services from Birmingham New Street to Bournemouth, Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance , Manchester Piccadilly to Glasgow Central , Manchester Piccadilly to Edinburgh Waverley and Morpeth to Edinburgh Waverley. On 6 March 2007, The Times reported that only 1 in 900 of
5688-493: Was introduced between Sheffield and Norwich . On 20 March 2009 Megabusplus tickets offering for combined coach and train journeys from London via East Midlands Parkway railway station were introduced. Three feeder coach routes were provided to Halifax , Hull and York operated by Stagecoach in Lincolnshire with Volvo B10Ms . Operation of the South West Trains services ceased on 4 August 2017 coinciding with
5767-435: Was located to the south west of the station. This depot closed in 1982 and was replaced by a new facility at Crown Point which, in 2015, is responsible for the maintenance of the main line electric fleet and local diesel multiple units. Before carriages were lit by electric lighting they were lit by gas. Norwich had an oil gas works and carriages north of a line from Harwich to Cambridge were supplied with oil gas. The gas
5846-570: Was opened by the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR), which was the earliest railway in Norfolk. The YNR's Act of Parliament of 18 June 1842 authorised the issue of £200,000 worth of shares to build a line between the two towns, via Reedham and the Yare valley . The chairman was George Stephenson and the chief engineer was his son, Robert Stephenson . Construction started in April 1843 and
5925-462: Was part of a plan to link the Y&NR with London, by linking up with the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) being built from Newport, Essex , to Brandon, Suffolk . Work started quickly during 1844 and went on into 1845. On 30 June 1845, a Bill authorising the amalgamation of the Y&NR with the N&;BR came into effect and Norwich station became a Norfolk Railway asset. The N&BR line arrived at
6004-475: Was reported that rival company National Express entered into talks to acquire Stagecoach. In May 2022, a rival takeover offer from a DWS managed investment fund bought Stagecoach. The origins of Stagecoach Group can be traced back to 1976, at which point Ann Gloag and her husband Robin Gloag established a small recreational vehicle and minibus hire business called Gloagtrotter based in Perth, Scotland . Ann's brother, Brian Souter , an accountant, joined
6083-471: Was started as an intercity coach service between several cities in southern parts of Sweden, sporting the Stagecoach livery of the time. Stagecoach in 1998 announced that it had bid for several rail franchises in Sweden. On 27 October 1999, Stagecoach revealed that it was going to sell Swebus to Concordia Bus for £100 million, to refocus its bus operation on the United States and Asia. Stagecoach operate
6162-722: Was the largest bus company in New Zealand when sold. Stagecoach NZ started operations when the firm acquired Wellington City Transport, including the Hutt Valley suburban bus operations of the New Zealand Railways Road Services , branded CityLine , in the 1990s. Following this initial acquisition Stagecoach also purchased Eastbourne Buses, The Yellow Bus Company in Auckland and a controlling interest in Fullers Auckland. In November 2005,
6241-463: Was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK. Following the sale of its London bus operations to Macquarie Bank in 2006, Stagecoach UK Bus concentrated on the bus market outside the UK capital, focusing on organic growth and exploring acquisition options. In September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. During October 2006,
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