Lumo, the “low-cost” the open-acesss rail operator from FirstGroup, has unveiled some interior shots of its new trains it plans to operate on the Stirling (Scotland) to London Euston route.
Lumo currently operates the low-cost services on the East Coast Main Line connecting destinations including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle with London and is planning to launch services on the West Coast Main Line in the coming months.
The new service will offer Lumo’s same great customer service, low-cost fares and connections to some previously underserved stations.
Lumo has revealed details of the newly refurbished Class 222 trains, with refreshed existing seats and some coaches of the fleet being fitted with new grey and silver seating.
Lumo operates a single class of Standard seating, offering all customers the best seats to take in the views on the new route.
Five Class 222s in a six-carriage formation (able to hold 340 seats) will be used to operate the Lumo fleet (with them coming from East Midlands Railways). These will operate a planned four services a day (three on Sundays).
The new route will link London Euston directly to Stirling, also calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet (serving Coatbridge), Greenfaulds (serving Cumbernauld) and Larbert.
Significantly, this new route gives Whifflet, Greenfaulds, and Larbert their first-ever direct rail services to London.
To support its growth, Lumo has taken 16 new apprentices on as they make the switch from the classroom to the train. Lumo’s Apprentice Customer Drivers began their training programme in June 2025, which is designed to develop them into skilled and proficient Customer Drivers. The course includes both practical and theoretical elements, with the recruits learning from the experienced Lumo team.
In Quotes
Lindsay Gauntlett, Head of People and Culture at Lumo, said:
“We’re proud of the progress of our new apprentices preparing to help us launch our new route connecting London Euston and Stirling.
“Nearly all Lumo colleagues have had the opportunity to train through our apprenticeship programme with Train’d Up. As a company, we believe in supporting local people to have the opportunity to work in the rail industry, regardless of their previous career and background.”
Ramp up to launch
With training continuing apace, Lumo will launch a new headquarters in Preston to support its operations on the West Coast Main Line.
But for now, no date has been set in stone for the launch of the service. As such, when operations are ready to commence, ticket sales will start near the launch date (expected in Mid-2026).
We’ll keep an eye open for this new competitor on the West Coast Main Line.
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