National Express Group plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany and Morocco and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

In 1972 the state owned National Bus Company decided to bring together the scheduled coach services operated by its bus operating companies in the United Kingdom under one brand. Sir Frederick Wood, a prominent businessman and industrialist, was asked to oversee the creation of this new business model and led the group as its chairman from 1972 to 1978. Initially branded as National, the National Express brand was first used in 1974. The National Express network was largely a branding exercise, with services continuing to be operated by the individual companies.

With the privatisation of the National Bus Company in the 1980s, National Express was subject to a management buyout in March 1988. The management team began to diversify, and in 1989 purchased Crosville Wales but its financial performance began to deteriorate from early 1990. A new management team took over the company in July 1991, with the backing of development and venture capital investors. The new team refocused the group on its core activities and sold Crosville Wales to British Bus. In October 1991 it purchased Speedlink, an operator of coach services between Gatwick and Heathrow Airports. In December 1992 National Express Group plc was floated on the London Stock Exchange. The prospectus stated the objectives of the company were to refocus and improve the profitability of the core coach business, to develop new products and services within its existing operations, and to acquire new businesses in the passenger transport market.

"National Express" is a song by The Divine Comedy. It was released as the third single from the album Fin de Siècle and reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart.

The song is based on Neil Hannon's observations of life from the window of a National Express coach. Some critics have criticised Hannon for "sneering" at the working classes on the track, but he has vehemently dismissed this notion.

The official video for the song examines, with some irony, the UK National Health Service from the viewpoint of a patient (portrayed by Hannon) in a psychiatric hospital who is about to undergo treatment.

Track listing

All tracks written by Neil Hannon; except where indicated.

National Express may refer to: