TWO Scottish transport giants are amongst the bidders shortlisted for the West Coast Partnership rail franchise.

Aberdeen’s FirstGroup and Perth-based Stagecoach Group have each teamed up with partners in an effort to win the contract, which includes designing and running HS2 services between London and Birmingham.

First Trenitalia, a joint venture between First and an Italian-owned operator, is among those selected by the Department for Transport along with West Coast Partnership, which involves Stagecoach, Virgin Holdings, and SNCF C3 of France.

MTR West Coast Partnership, a joint venture between Hong Kong transport firm MTR Corporation and China’s Guangshen Railway Company, has also been selected.

The winner is expected to be announced next year and will take charge of West Coast Main Line services from 2019 and HS2 services in 2026. Construction of the high-speed system starts this year.