FOUR bidders for the next South Central train operating franchise have been announced by the Department for Transport.

They are National Express, Stagecoach, Govia — which operates the present franchise under the brand name Southern — and the Dutch national railway NedRailways.

The new franchise will be awarded in early summer in 2009, and start operating from 20 September next year. The contract will expire in July 2015, but DfT may prolong the contract by an additional two years after 2015.

Major improvements such as the extended East London Line and the £5.5 billion Thameslink upgrades will have to be supported by the successful bidder.

The length of the South Central franchise has been kept deliberately short to allow DfT to dovetail it with the Thameslink programme.

Rail minister Tom Harris said: “We look forward to seeing strong bids from each of the competitors for this important franchise.

"We want passengers across the franchise area to see improvements — longer trains, safer stations and later running services."

The franchise will consist of services currently run by Southern, including Gatwick Express. It will also take in the Tonbridge-Redhill service now run by Southeastern.

Smartcards, including Oyster cards, will be used across the South Central franchise area.