Firstgroup-owned open-access rail operator Lumo has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open-access rail service between Rochdale and London to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Lumo operates between London and Edinburgh as an open-access operator on the East Coast Mainline. The new service calls for trains which would be electric and battery-powered, and the service will be operated by brand new trains built in the UK.
FirstGroup’s proposal for six return journeys a day aims to restore a direct Rochdale to London link via Manchester Victoria which last ran in the year 2000.
In terms of stops, the service will operate from Rochdale to London Euston, calling at Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay, then heading down the West Coast Main Line to Euston.
The station at Eccles provides connectivity for other parts of the City of Salford, including the MediaCity area, via the nearby interchange with Metrolink and services to Newton-le-Willows will deliver greater rail connectivity for St Helens.
Firstgroup estimates that this new service would provide 1.6m people in the North West with a convenient and competitively priced direct rail service to London from stations that are more local to them, helping to stimulate a shift in transport mode from coach and car travel to rail.
In Quotes
FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, Graham Sutherland said
“We have extensive experience of running open access rail operations and we want to bring our successful Lumo service to this new route that connects Rochdale and London. We have seen the level of growth and opportunity that is possible with open access, as well as the positive effect it has on the wider market, including economic and environmental benefits. In addition, the new service will help to drive modal shift from road to rail between the North West and London. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we build our application and our case for this new service.”
Lumo’s next steps
FirstGroup has submitted a formal application to the ORR. A consultation period will now follow, as well as discussions with Network Rail to secure the required approvals.
It is anticipated that services could begin in the 2027 calendar year;
Competition hots up on the West Coast Main Line
After a period where Avanti (and its predecessor Virgin Trains) has had the West Coast Mainline pretty much to itself (as part of the compensation for the time to upgrade the line), operators are lining up to add additional services. Notable content includes Grand Union Trains with their Scottish service and SLC/Alstom with their Wrexham service.
Lumo isn’t sitting still with its expansion as well, with plans to expand to Sheffield, as well as Glasgow.
It seems that the age of the open-access operator is finally bearing fruit with more operators trying new ideas (and without government subsidy), 30 years after the privatization of British Rail began…
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