Analysis: the final chapter of Stagecoach’s railway adventure?

Stagecoach was once a big hitter of the rail industry but recently surrendered its last franchise. Howard Johnston charts its rise, fall and return to buses

Remember Stagecoach Group? Only ten years ago, its rate of acquisition of UK rail and tramway operating franchises had been so rapid that many may have wondered how long it would be before it ran the lot.

Now it has none of them. Stagecoach’s near-billionaire founders have taken a back seat after its takeover by a German conglomerate. And while still immensely successful, with 24,000 employees and a turnover of almost £1.4 billion last year, Stagecoach is squarely back where it began - on rubber tyres.