West Coast Open Access Rail requests… denied!

At Economy Class and Beyond, we have covered the emergence of new Open Access Operators who wish to operate new services on the West Coast Mainline. 

It seems these are in vain, with the Office of Rail and Road concluding there is not enough capacity to let these operations commence.

There were three companies in the mix to launch services. They were:

• Virgin Trains (three new service groups): VT1: London Euston and Greater Manchester and Northwest (Preston via Manchester Victoria – five daily services on Monday to Sunday, and Rochdale via Manchester Victoria – two daily services on Monday to Sunday); VT2: London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street (nine daily services on Monday to Sunday); and VT3: London Euston and Birmingham New Street (four daily services on Monday to Sunday).
• WSMR: London Euston and Wrexham (five daily services on weekdays and Saturdays); London Euston and Wrexham (four daily services on Sundays)
• Lumo NW: London Euston and Rochdale (six daily services on weekdays and Saturdays); London Euston and Rochdale (five daily services on Sunday)

The Office of Rail and Road concluded there is insufficient capacity on the West Coast Main Line southern section for the introduction of any of the proposed services, with the introduction of any of these proposals would be detrimental to performance on the WCML and therefore all passengers and freight customers, especially between Camden South (in London) and Ledburn Junction (Buckinghamshire).

In theory, nine return train paths would have been available for distribution. These are currently used as “firebreak” paths. Firebreak paths are planned gaps or unused time in the timetable. Network Rail has provided clear evidence that the firebreaks are frequently used, which is not a good sign if the free paths are actively used.

There’s a lot more in the Decision on applications for access to the West Coast Main Line (WCML), which makes for interesting reading if you’re into the devil of the detail.

In the case of these three applications, lack of capacity and the anticipated impact on performance meant the new operators could not be approved.

Only the London-Stirling service by FirstGroup (Lumo) has been approved will continue.

In Quotes

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy, and reform, said:

“After thorough assessment of each application, it was clear that there was insufficient capacity to approve any of the services without a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience on the West Coast Main Line.

“We recognise the potential advantages of competition on the West Coast Main Line, which is why we approved in 2024 the new London-Stirling services that First Group are due to start operating in 2026. However, it is clear that the southern end of the route requires space in the timetable to provide resilience.  Additional services within the current timetable structure and planned capacity use would further weaken punctuality and reliability, not just at the south end of the WCML but elsewhere as well.”

In response, a spokesperson for Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway said:

“We are extremely disappointed with the Office of Rail and Road’s decision to reject our application – the only current application to receive support from the Department for Transport. We have spent the past two years demonstrating that capacity and performance concerns can and would be negated by the industry working together to deliver a better railway for passengers. WSMR would have set new standards for how open access operators can and should work alongside nationalised rail services.

“Since our application was submitted in March 2024, we have received overwhelming support from local people, businesses, councillors and MPs, who all recognise the urgent need for this​ connectivity. We will now urgently seek to reengage with the ORR and determine our next steps regarding the future of this vital passenger service.”

If only there were a high-capacity rail line on the way…

Capacity is tight on the West Coast Mainline (even after the WCML Modernisation programme in the early 2000s), with it shared by fast intercity services, regional, commuter, sleeper, and freight services, all fighting for capacity, especially south of Rugby.

Whilst the majority of the route is quad-tracked (two lines that operate up and down) between London and Winsford, there are still plenty of bottlenecks, with capacity, as well as available electrification and limited available paths, seems to have scuppered the plans of Virgin Trains, WSMR and Lumo to add further trains services.

One of the ways this situation could be improved (especially between London and Rugby) would be the arrival of a new rail line which had high capacity and could remove some of the passenger traffic off the existing infrastructure, freeing up train paths.

Alas, HS2 is buried in delays and cost overruns, with the ambitious route originally specified pared back to the London – Birmingham International (Delta Junction) – Birmingham Curzon Street route, with the trains either terminating at Birmingham, or using the Delta Junction and beyond to connect to the West Coast Main Line near Rugley. And with more trains going onto the railway (be it heading to Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Carlisle, or Glasgow, they are going to need paths to complete their journeys too).

For now, all the companies that applied for access on the West Coast Main Line will have to go back to the drawing board to see what is viable… if anything.