Additional rail services from Newcastle to London are on the cards as Lumo reveals plans to add new journeys.
The all-electric open-access train operator is planning to introduce a new early-morning service from the north east to London King's Cross.
There will also be an additional evening return service. This will result in an additional 277,000 seats between the two cities, a 15% increase in capacity.
At present there are five return journeys a day between London, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
The proposals have been submitted as part of the East Coast Main Line timetable review exercise.
All train operators along the route, which links London King's Cross with Aberdeen and Inverness, while serving major destinations such as Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle, Leeds and York. The new timetable could see Lumo services between London and Edinburgh speeded up, taking just over four hours end to end, down from the present four hours 20 minutes.
The additional services are expected to begin in December, though proposals are subject to the final timing refinements from Network Rail which then needs to seek approval from the industry regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Lumo, said: “Looking at this option to expand our services will deliver more great value and sustainable journeys to our customers, as well as even faster journey times across some of the rest of our timetable. We have played a significant part in encouraging more people to travel by train between some of the UK's largest cities, bringing substantial environmental benefits while boosting the economy.
“We look forward to working with Network Rail to refine this opportunity and take it forward to the final timetable, which we hope will benefit customers choosing Lumo on the East Coast Main Line.”
Horrible seats like the other Hitachis.?
Far better than the dreadful Azuma seats if you are over 5 foot 10.
Perhaps it’s down to the political donations that Lumos owner First Group give to the Tory Party why they get preference over LNER etc.
As a “so called” Operator of Last Resort, shouldn’t LNER been given first choice on extending the service to increase revenue
Is the Government conspiring to undermining the revenue of its own operator to raise the profits of a competing private operator?
The lumo trains always seem full and the LNER ones always seem half empty at best.
I’m guessing this is due to pricing?
Not really a new service, extra services being added
By giving more paths to a completing private operator the Government is effectively undermining the revenue of its own “so called” Operator of Last Resort.
Making the service faster is wrong for the local stations along the line making local services poor some you see trains between Berwick upon Tweed to London longer than a fast train between Edinburgh and London, improvements should be made for local stations not reduce the services, I think someone should concentrate on services between Edinburgh Berwick upon Tweed Alnmouth Morpeth to York Leeds Sheffield Birmingham, probably X country trains with better room on the trains and new trains instead of sardine cans yes investment is needed.
We don’t need additional trains to London we need more from Edinburgh and Newcastle to Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool
We need more local and efficient rail connections in the north! Not more to London.
I agree the upgrading the urban lines should take priority, over the London services, as in Scotland and Wales.
The two terminals in Bradford should be joined to extend the electrified Wharfedale and Airedale Metro Lines to Halifax, Cleckheaton and Huddersfield via the disused Spen Valley and Wyke to Brighouse Lines!
Connecting Forster Sq & the Interchange has been talked about for many years; in-fact my father was part of talks regarding this when he worked for Bradford Council. The main issue is that the Interchange is higher up than Forster Sq; meaning that a long, snaking tunnel would need to be dug under Bradford City centre….& let’s not forget neither station is aligned with the other. Also, due to the gradient needed to connect the two stations, the portals would have to be a considerable distance from the city centre. There’s also things such as the Broadway shopping centre & Bradford Beck which flows under the city centre that would need to be factored in to this. Then there’s the issue of the radius of the track on platform 5 at Shipley; currently single track & incredibly tight. Money would be better spent upgrading current infrastructure, rather than building a cross city connection.
Why ca t lumo train s stop York station or Doncaster station for Yorkshire people
The open access operation didn’t allow them to do it.
The same rules apply for Grand Central and Hull trains, I agree with most more x country trains are needed , I’d like to see more trains x country from Gladgow Carlisle to leeds and beyond.
XC need proper 8 or 9 coach trains that aren’t cramped, overfull and late or cancelled.
Or Darlington ?
Great! Competition on the East Coast mainline?