THE man who is to take the helm of the region’s new rail franchise has been named.

Andy Mellors, who has 25 years’ experience in the industry and is currently deputy managing director at Great Western Railway, has been appointed as managing director of the new franchise South Western Railway.

The new franchise was awarded to First MTR South Western, a consortium of FirstGroup and Hong Kong’s MTR, earlier this year and will run for seven years from August 20.

They will take over from South West Trains, which is owned by Stagecoach.

Mr Mellors, who has held a number of number of senior leadership roles since joining FirstGroup in 2002, will see the development of exciting plans for a brand new fleet of 90 trains, consisting of 750 carriages on the franchise, plus a refurbishment of existing rolling stock that will be used on routes between London Waterloo, Reading, Bristol, Exeter, Weymouth, and Portsmouth.

Talking about his appointment, Mr Mellors said: “I look forward to leading the team at the new FirstGroup and MTR South Western franchise, and to build on the respected foundations established by the current South West Trains employees.

“Passengers on our franchise can look forward to new and better trains, more seats and services, quicker journey times, enhanced stations and more flexible fare options.”

Steve Montgomery, managing director of First Rail, added: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Andy as managing director of the new South Western franchise. Andy has an exceptional track record of improving rail services for passengers.

“He will head up an experienced team that will introduce our exciting plans for better customer journeys, and keep people moving and communities prospering across the South Western network.”