Keolis

Private
Industry Rail, road, public transport
Headquarters Paris
Area served
 France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
Key people
 President & Group CEO: Jean-Pierre Farandou
Group Executive Vice President & CFO: Michel Lamboley
CEO International: Bernard Tabary
CEO France: Patrick Jeantet[1]
Revenue €5.1 billion (2013)
Number of employees
 54,400 (December 2013)
Parent SNCF (70%)
Quebec Deposit & Investment Fund (30%)
Website www.keolis.com

Keolis is the largest private sector French transport group. It runs passenger railways, tramways, bus networks, funiculars, trolley buses, and airport services. Based in Paris, Keolis is owned by the SNCF (French National Railways Corporation) at 70% and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec which is translated as Quebec Deposit & Investment Fund (public pension plans in the province of Quebec) at 30%.

In 2013, Keolis turned over €5.1 billion.[2] As at December 2013, Keolis employed 54,600 people in France, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is the largest provider of public-transportation services in France.

Operations

Keolis Downer trams at Flinders Street station in February 2013
Southern Class 377 at Battersea Park in June 2010

Australia

Keolis holds a 50% shareholding in Keolis Downer that has operated the Melbourne tram network since November 2009.[3][4] Keolis Downer has operated the G:link light rail line on the Gold Coast since July 2014.[5]

In March 2015, Keolis Downer purchased bus operator Australian Transit Enterprises which operates the Hornibrook Bus Lines, Link SA, Path Transit and SouthLink operations with 930 buses.[6]

Canada

Keolis is involved in the operation of Quebec intercity bus company Orléans Express.

From 2004 to 2012 it also operated Acadian Lines intercity buses in The Maritimes. The latter services have since been taken over by independent operator Maritime Bus.

China

In China, Keolis joins with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, the owner of Shanghai Metro, in creating Shanghai Keolis Public Transport.[7] This joint venture is planning to operate Shanghai Pudong International Airport's people mover system, which will link the proposed satellite concourse building with the existing Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, as well as the planned tram network within Songjiang Region, a suburb west of Shanghai downtown. An agreement had been signed between Keolis and Hubei Province Government, and Keolis will be responsible for Greater Wuhan area's suburban railway opreation.[8]

France

Keolis has extensive operations in France. It provides transit services in many cities including Bordeaux, Brest, Dijon, Lille, Lyon, Orléans, and Rennes.

The Netherlands

Since 2012, Keolis wholly owns the company Syntus, which operates regional bus and train services.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Keolis owns 35% of Govia that currently operates the Govia Thameslink Railway,[9][10] Southern, Southeastern and London Midland franchises.[11] Keolis also has a 45% shareholding in First TransPennine Express which will end on the 1st April 2016 due to FirstGroup outbidding Keolis.[12]

In 2012, Keolis lodged a joint bid with SNCF for the aborted InterCity West Coast franchise[13] and in 2014, in partnership with Eurostar, lodged a bid for the InterCity East Coast franchise.[14][15]

Keolis is part of a consortium that commenced operating the Nottingham Express Transit tram operation in December 2011.[16] Keolis also commenced operating the Docklands Light Rail concession in December 2014.[17]

United States

On October 16, 2009, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board approved an $85 million contract with Keolis Rail Services America to operate and maintain VRE trains for five years.[18] Keolis began operating VRE on July 12, 2010 after a two-week delay, ending Amtrak's 18-year tenure as operator.[19] Both Amtrak and Keolis had staffed the VRE lines with about 80 employees.[18][19] However, during the bidding, a group of Holocaust survivors and Maryland politician Heather Mizeur called for investigations into SNCF's role in transportation of Nazi prisoners to concentration camps during World War II before the Keolis contracts could move forward.[20] The operator of the train line, Amtrak, also challenged the propriety of hiring a foreign company.[19]

Keolis has also bid to run some California commuter rail segments and two MARC lines in Maryland, even though with the latter, the company is running into similar issues with the VRE bidding. Another group of Holocaust survivors, led this time by Leo Bretholz also requested investigations of SNCF's involvement in the war.[21] As a result, a law was passed to enforce this, leading to major criticism because SNCF had already documented their role in the deportation and had in fact released their archives for research and educational purposes in 1996.[22] Eventually however, Keolis would lose to Canadian company Bombardier Transportation.[23]

On November 29, 2011, Keolis Transit America, Keolis's US subsidiary, announced the acquisition of Tectrans Inc., a California-based privately held provider of contract transportation services. Tectrans holdings included in the acquisition included Mobility Plus Transportation, Western Transit Systems, and Diversified Transportation.[24]

In August 2012, Keolis Commuter Services was one of two companies, Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company (MBCR) and Keolis Commuter Services (KCS),[25] to bid on a commuter rail contract for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in Boston, Massachusetts. The contract was to operate 664 miles of passenger service.[26][27] On January 8, 2014 it was released by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority that Keolis had won the contract for $2.68 billion over eight years, with the possibility for two two-year extensions that could bring the total price to $4.3 billion. Keolis began operating the MBTA Commuter Rail on July 1st, 2014.[28]

India

In 2012 Keolis has won the Operation and Maintenance contract of Hyderabad Metro Rail project.[29] This marks the Keolis's foray foray into Indian Market. The "Hyderabad Metro rail project" is valued at 22,000 Crores and is forecasted to be commissioned by 2017. Its first Indian employee is Mr. Sudeep Kumar Batha, a mechanical graduate from MIT.

References

  1. ↑ Keolis - organisation Keolis
  2. ↑ Keolis' revenue exceeds 5 billion euros in 2013 Keolis March 2014
  3. ↑ Melbourne tram and train operators selected Railway Gazette International 25 June 2009
  4. ↑ New train, tram operators for Melbourne The Age 25 June 2009
  5. ↑ GoldlinQ selected to build Gold Coast light rail Railway Gazette International 6 May 2011
  6. ↑ Operator ATE Sold Australasian Bus & Coach 11 March 2015
  7. ↑ Keolis et le métro de Shanghai concrétisent leur alliance au sein de « Shanghai Keolis Public Transport »Médias 28 March 2014
  8. ↑ Keolis signe un accord avec la Province chinoise du Hubei sur les trains de banlieue de WuhanMédias 6 November 2014
  9. ↑ Govia chosen for new Thameslink contract Railnews 23 May 2014
  10. ↑ Govia wins TSGN franchise, beating FirstGroup Rail Technology 23 May 2014
  11. ↑ About Us Govia
  12. ↑ Who we are First TransPennine Express
  13. ↑ Shortlisted Bidders for Greater Anglia and Intercity West Coast Rail Franchises Department for Transport 24 March 2011
  14. ↑ East Coast rail shortlist revealed BBC News 17 January 2014
  15. ↑ InterCity East Coast franchise shortlist announced Railway Gazette 17 January 2014
  16. ↑ Consortium Members - Keolis Tramlink Nottingham
  17. ↑ French firm wins 7-year Docklands Light Rail franchise BBC News 4 July 2014
  18. 1 2 Buske, Jennifer (November 6, 2009). "VRE plan to oust Amtrak up for vote". The Washington Post.
  19. 1 2 3 Buske, Jennifer (July 10, 2010). "Amtrak ends role as VRE operator; Keolis to start Monday". The Washington Post.
  20. ↑ Shaver, Katherine (July 7, 2010). "Holocaust group faults VRE contract". The Washington Post. ISSN 0740-5421.
  21. ↑ Holocaust Survivor: Don't Let Train Co. Operate MARC Rails
  22. ↑ Lind, Michael (June 5, 2011). The Washington Post. No way to run a railroad".
  23. ↑ Shaver, Katherine (17 October 2012). "New company to operate some MARC trains". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  24. ↑ Keolis Transit America (November 29, 2011). "Keolis expands into the transit market in the United States", Keolis Press Release.
  25. ↑ Technically, KCS is a joint venture between Keolis Rail Services America and the SNCF, the French National Railway.
  26. ↑ Metzger, Andy, "State House News -- Only two companies vie for commuter rail contract", State House News Service, Aug 06, 2012
  27. ↑ "Two transit giants seek MBTA commuter rail deal", Gloucester Daily Times, Gloucester, Massachusetts, September 17, 2012
  28. ↑ Powers, Martine (2014-01-08). "French firm Keolis wins commuter rail contract - Massachusetts news". Boston.com. Retrieved 2014-01-12.
  29. ↑ L&T selects Keolis as O&M contractor for Hyderabad Metro Rail System

External links

Coordinates: 48°52′15″N 2°19′41″E / 48.87083°N 2.32806°E / 48.87083; 2.32806

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