Grand Union Trains has revised its plans for its London to Stirling service, including what locomotive will be used.
Originally, Grand Union planned to use Ex-LNER Class 91s for the service, but in the revisions made this month, new ROG Class 93s are being used.
The new tri-mode locomotives will be used on services, which currently planned to run every 3 hours, with the first services leaving at 05:15 from Stirling and 07:30 from London Euston.
Whilst a new locomotive class has been named, the plan remains to use Mark 4s that will be cascaded from the East Coast Main Line and LNER.
Each train will consist of a Class 93 locomotive, 9 Mark 4 coaches, and a Class 82 Driving Van Trailer (DVT)
The proposal says that the new Stirling to London Euston service would make use of the Scottish Central Line that avoids both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
As before with the original proposed, the Class 82 DVT will be used to carry freight items, and Grand Union is working with Intercity Railfreight on this initiative. This space would be used for a number of items but will include a refrigerated space for NHS biological materials.
The new service would make calls at Stirling, Greenfaulds, Whifflet, Motherwell, Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, Nuneaton, Milton Keynes Central and London Euston.
Grand Union says there are over 100 new jobs expected to be created by the new service, with the company saying it is ‘willing' to fit into the current pattern of services to sit alongside the current timetables.
The Open Access Operator says that if approved, training could start in 2022, with the service starting in December 2022.
What do you think of this. Let us know in the comments below!
We have approached Grand Union, Eversholt Rail and Rail Operations Group for comment and these will be added when made available.
You can read the full revised proposal by clicking here.
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Class 93? So Grand Union aren’t going to take advantage of the increased 125mph none-tilt speed then? They should stick with the Class 91, and regear them from 140mph to 125mph to improve acceleration.
“Class 82 DVT”??!?!? It’s a MK4 coach! The “82” is just the first two digits of the coach number.
Marketing branding of this new service is not clever. Given the current social attitudes in SCO right now, is ‘GRAND UNION’ going to be well received? I very much doubt it. But folk will buy on price…
A DVT is not a Class 82!
The East Coast Main Line is yet to become more busier with new train operators. And for LNER to extend their franchise and to have competition with open access East Coast Trains when the Class 803 IETs have entered service.
What is the point? 100mph train – how will that be pathed? Further, it will take forever to Stirling at that speed. 125mph is slow if going to Stirling, so 100 will be utterly pointless in my view. It’ll have to path between others slowing it down further.
Class 93’s can do 110 mph.
Still means that Grand Union won’t be taking advantage of the increase in none-tilt 125mph line speed. They should stick with the 91. Perhaps re-gear the 91’s from 140mph to 125mph to increase acceleration rate.
For me it is interesting in the fact that the service will stop at Greenfaulds Station one of my two local stations the other being Cumbernauld.
Good luck to them. It will all have been ‘in planning’ for some time, then came the covid restrictions. Will traveller numbers ever recover adequately?
No mention of onward, connecting services; why not?
Scotland is a big, beautiful place; Stirling less so . . .
Coatbridge Central should be considered as a stop. It was once a main line station and neglected but now has a revitalized hourly local service.
I really hope it goes ahead this time! It will be great to see some loco hauled trains on the West Coast Main Line again.
Why can’t somebody introduce a Bradford Euston service??.. Calling at Halifax Sowerby Bridge Accrington Burnley Blackburn crewe London.. A huge number of people with a poor geographical train service provided.. Screaming out for a service to somewhere else!!!
When the Colne Skipton Line reopens you could run a service from Bradford North, via Skipton and Preston using redundant HST’s.
It would have been good to see Rugby as one of the intermediary stations as despite the high footfall through the station, it has become increasingly difficult to go directly to major cities to the north