Sea Containers invited to acquire seven-year franchise to operate Britain's largest rail passenger business, the East Coast Main Line

Business Wire, March 15, 1996

HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 1996--Sea Containers Ltd., marine container lessor, ferries operator and luxury hotels owner, today announced that it had been invited by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, subject to conclusion of a satisfactory contract, to operate Intercity East Coast Ltd., known as the East Coast Main Line of British Rail.

The East Coast Main Line operates frequent high-speed rail services between Scotland and London with main intermediate stops at Newcastle, York, Leeds, Doncaster, Peterborough and Stevenage. This network accounted for 11 million passenger journeys in 1995, equivalent to 1.8 billion passenger miles. In the last fiscal year revenue was approximately 250 million British pounds ($400 million).

Sherwood said that Christopher W.M. Garnett would become the chief executive of the Great Northern Railway Co. Ltd., the bid vehicle which will acquire Intercity East Coast Ltd. Garnett has headed the team which prepared the franchise bid. He was formerly commercial director of Eurotunnel and headed Sea Containers' Channel and North Sea Ferries Division before it sold that business to Stena Line. Garnett will report to David G. Benson, vice president of Sea Containers' Ferries and Ports Division.

Sea Containers had earlier submitted bids for the Great Western and South West trains businesses of British Rail but its requirements concerning length of franchise and commitments with respect to capital investment had not been accepted by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising. Sherwood said the situation concerning the East Coast Main Line was completely different in that enormous capital investment had been made in recent years. The routes between Edinburgh and London have been electrified and 31 of the 40 train sets are nearly new.

Sherwood indicated that Sea Containers expected to realize the same sort of success from this privatisation as it had from the Sealink privatisation in 1984. He said that his and Garnett's inspections of the East Coast Main Line had revealed the enormous potential of the business and it was Sea Containers' intention to unlock that potential as soon as possible.

CONTACT: Sea Containers America Inc., New York

Jennifer Hawkins, 212/302-5066

or

William W. Galvin, 212/838-5454