Virgin Trains faces tough competition if it wants to carry on running a key London to Scotland rail route.
Virgin has operated the West Coast main line since 1997 but the franchise is again under the bidding process.
Today, the Department for Transport (DfT) said a shortlist of four had been selected to bid for the franchise.
Virgin has made it on to the shortlist but is up against transport giant FirstGroup, which already runs a number of franchises.
Also on the shortlist is Dutch company Nederlandse Spoorwegen and a joint venture between French rail company SNCF and French company Keolis SA.
The new West Coast franchise will start on April 1 2012 and run for 14 years, with an option to extend for a further year.
The DfT also announced a three-strong shortlist for the Greater Anglia franchise – a list not including the current operator of the franchise, National Express.
Competing for Greater Anglia are Nederlandse Spoorwegen and two transport companies already with experience of running franchises, the Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach.
The Greater Anglia franchise will start on February 5 2012 and will run for 17 months, with an option to extend by up to one year.
The DfT said this shorter franchise will allow time for reforms arising from the current McNulty review into rail value for money to be properly considered and built into the terms of a subsequent Greater Anglia franchise.
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Tags: Trains