ABERDEEN, Scotland and 'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, The Netherlands, June 19 /PRNewswire/ --     Quintiq, a leading provider of advanced planning and scheduling
solutions, today announced that it has won the contract to provide a
comprehensive resource optimisation solution to FirstGroup, the world's
leading transport operator.

Following a successful pilot with First ScotRail, Quintiq's resource
optimisation solutions will be implemented at all four of First's rail
passenger franchises, First ScotRail, First TransPennine Express, First
Capital Connect and First Great Western.

The Quintiq solution will allow First to improve efficiency, costs and
customer service by highlighting the optimal requirements for train units,
drivers and crew. Quintiq's knowledge based planning system allows operators
a complete understanding of operational needs and constraints. For example,
the system will, at the touch of a button, inform users: which drivers are
authorised to operate on particular tracks; driver and crew contract and
shift patterns, including driver breaks; and train unit characteristics such
as passenger capacity.

"Having such information readily to hand is invaluable," explains Victor
Allis, Chief Executive at Quintiq. "When making decisions about routes,
timetabling, staffing, trains and the cost First's planners can use the
Quintiq system and immediately test the quality of their possible solutions.
The system is particularly useful for tactical and long term planning and
indeed operational planning when revisions have to be put in place due to
engineering works, for example."

Leo Goodwin, Commercial Director at First TransPennine Express, said:
"First searched long and hard for a single advanced planning and scheduling
solution that best enables each train operating company to become more
efficient. We were very impressed with Quintiq's professionalism, delivery
and ability to adapt to the specific needs of each of our train operating
companies. Quintiq's solutions will help each company deliver improved
reliability and we look forward to a successful partnership."

Victor Allis added: "We are delighted that the Quintiq solution was
chosen by First as it offers yet another validation that our unique approach
is adaptable not just to any industry, but also to multiple needs within an
organisation. By combining our expertise in addressing complex planning
problems with First's planning teams' years of professional experience; we
have come up with a world class solution."

Allis continued: "The competitive pilot deployment proved that Quintiq is
uniquely capable of handling the complex business rules of any railway
company. The Quintiq solution gave First's planners complete control of the
planning process, enabling interactive optimisation that combines advanced
software with planners' own skills to drive the best possible scheduling."

About Quintiq

Quintiq provides advanced planning, scheduling and supply chain
management solutions. The fast-growing Dutch company, established in 1997,
offers software for planning and optimizing complex business processes
throughout the enterprise. The company's headquarters is located in the
Netherlands and it has subsidiaries in Germany, UK, Finland, Malaysia, China,
Australia, and the USA. For more information: http://www.quintiq.com.

About FirstGroup

FirstGroup plc is the world's leading transport company with annualised
revenues of over GBP5 billion a year. We employ approximately 137,000 staff
throughout the UK and North America and transport more than 2.5 billion
passengers a year. http://www.firstgroup.com