(Adds detail, background)
LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it was
taking emergency measures to help its rail network survive a 70%
drop in passenger numbers as coronavirus stops many people from
travelling.
The Department for Transport said it was temporarily
suspending rail franchise contracts for at least six months,
taking on all the cost and revenue risk itself, and instead
paying train companies a small fee to keep operating some
services.
Separately on Monday, UK-based transport companies Go-Ahead
, FirstGroup and Stagecoach said that
they could not forecast their profits this year as people
stopped travelling on trains and buses.
The measures mean Britain's trains will keep running a
reduced service, helping key workers get to work during the
crisis, and minimising disruption to the economy.
The government warned that if it had not stepped in there
would have been severe consequences.
"Allowing operators to enter insolvency would cause
significantly more disruption to passengers and higher costs to
the taxpayer," the DfT's statement said on Monday.
Britain had already said last week that its rail network
would run fewer trains during the crisis.
UK-listed transport companies Go-Ahead, FirstGroup and
Stagecoach said they would try to cut costs to survive this
period of lower travel.
Go-Ahead, which operates the GTR rail network in London and
southeast England, said it would suspend its dividend, while
FirstGroup, which warned of lower passenger volumes both in the
UK and in its U.S. school bus and contract bus business, said
capital expenditure was on hold.
Stagecoach warned it would no longer meet its profit
forecast and said it did not expect to pay any further dividends
in its current financial year.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)
