It seems that West Midlands Trains (the franchised incumbent on the West Coast Main Line, operating commuter services out of London Euston), wants a stab at running its trains much further than they’ve been before – to Manchester.
West Midlands Trains Class 730 (In West Midlands Railways colours) – Image, West Midlands Trains
According to West Midlands Trains, the plans are designed to improve connectivity between the Midlands and the North West and provide more choices for passengers.
They propose that London Northwestern Railway’s existing services between London Euston and Crewe would be extended through to Manchester Victoria and the current services between Stafford and Crewe would be extended to Manchester Airport.
The service currently operates from London Euston, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Atherstone, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Rugeley Trent Valley, Stafford and Crewe. Under the proposals, these services could be extended to Manchester from May 2026.
As well as bringing additional capacity to Manchester, the plans will create new direct links from Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth and Atherstone in the West Midlands to the city and Warrington, from summer 2026.
The company would like to operate these services with the new Class 730 electric trains, with them expected to operate in a 10-car formation.
West Midlands Trains have a release at https://www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk/travel-information/whats-new/manchester
In Quotes
Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, operator of London Northwestern Railway, said:
“This proposal puts passengers at the heart of the railway and is the common sense solution to increase connectivity between the North West and the West Midlands following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2.
“With platform space at Euston at a premium, the best way to provide new journey opportunities to Manchester is simply to extend existing services, rather than trying to squeeze more trains onto the congested West Coast Main Line.
“Additionally, unlike the Open Access model, the millions of pounds of extra revenue our proposals would generate will be returned to the taxpayer, providing a win-win for rail passengers.
“Just as we have shown with our existing long-distance services to Birmingham and Liverpool, our green and environmentally-friendly new electric trains will provide an affordable alternative to the car and coach, with fares up to 50% cheaper than the main intercity operator.”
Dominic Booth, chief executive officer of WMT’s parent company, Transport UK Group, said:
“Our new service proposals represent a significant step forward in enhancing the rail network between Manchester and London.
“By leveraging the new Class 730 electric trains, we will provide greater capacity and comfort for customers travelling to Manchester while also supporting the local economy by creating new job opportunities in the North West. This proposal aligns with our commitment to delivering efficient, sustainable, and customer-focused rail services across the UK.”
This is a little different… but the timing isn’t great
Unlike the previous Open Access requests from Virgin, Wrexham and Shropshire Railway and Lumo, West Midlands Trains (and its London Northwestern Railway subbrand), is a franchised rail operator.
That is, they bid to operate services and were awarded an operating control to start in 2017, with it set to expire in during 2026. That’s an interesting timeframe – considering the political earthquake that has hit the United Kingdom today, with the Labour Party taking power.
One of the aims of their manifesto is
We will put passengers at the heart of the service by reforming the railways and bringing them into public ownership. We will do this as contracts with existing operators expire or arebroken through a failure to deliver, without costing taxpayers a penny in compensation.
It’ll be interesting how West Midlands Trains square with this, given their plans to commence extended operations, subject to paths being awarded from 2026.
It’ll also be interesting to see how these other open-access operators can thrive under these proposed changes.
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