LONDON: Dutch-owned company Abellio Group has won a 6 billion pound ($9.7 billion) contract to run rail services in Scotland for the next 10 years, replacing Scottish-based FirstGroup which has recently missed out on a number of contracts.

The ScotRail award expands the reach of Abellio, the international arm of Dutch rail company NS, in Britain.

Several other British rail contracts are in the hands of international companies.

The loss of the ScotRail contract comes after FirstGroup was beaten in a competition to continue running rail services on the Thameslink network in southern England in May, and follows its unsuccessful bid to win the Essex Thameside contract in eastern England in June.

Abellio’s new contract, which the Scottish government said was worth up to 6 billion pounds, is to run services between Scotland’s major towns and cities from April 2015.

It includes a break clause if the company does not meet its obligations over the first five years.

“We look forward to delivering significant new benefits for passengers under the next franchise,” Abellio CEO Jeff Hoogesteger said in a statement.

Abellio’s winning bid included promises to introduce free Wi-Fi for passengers on all trains, add almost a quarter more carriages across the network and cut fares for the unemployed.