Stagecoach Group PLC (LON:SGC) and Virgin Group are joining forces with French high speed operator SNCF to bid for the West Coast Partnership rail franchise.
The franchise will run from 2019 and will include the current West Coast services plus the first few years of operation of High Speed 2 services.
Stagecoach will own half of the joint venture that is bidding for the franchise, with SNCF holding 30% and Virgin the remainder.
Stagecoach said that if successful, the trains would run under the Virgin brand.