Lumo owner, FirstGroup plc, plans to boost connectivity through plans to expand its open-access rail operations.
The plan is to replicate Lumo’s successful Edinburgh to London service, and FirstGroup has submitted the first of three applications to the Office of Road and Rail.
Applications cover the following plans:
- Application for services between London Euston and Rochdale via Manchester – beginning December 2028
- Stirling to London Euston track access extension – allowing operation beyond 2030.
- Cardiff to York via Birmingham, Derby, and Sheffield – beginning December 2028
- Lastly, to purchase new trains
FirstGroup plans to commit further investment into new Hitachi trains, should the applications be successful.
The investment would include 5 battery electric trains to be used on the Stirling route and three more for Rochdale.
“We have extensive experience of running open access rail operations in the UK, and passengers consistently rate our services highly. Our new services will allow us to bring the substantial benefits of open access to even more communities, at no additional cost to the taxpayer. Lumo also pays more towards infrastructure investment than other long-distance operators, delivering growth on the railway and connectivity to local communities, so the whole system gains.
“Our open access services connect previously under-served communities and unlock private investment, creating jobs and shifting travel towards more sustainable options. We look forward to working closely with stakeholders as we develop our applications.”
FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer, Graham Sutherland
Responses
This is good news, and Lumo and other open access operators provide much needed competition to the franchised – and now to be nationalised – operators.
However, there are many in the current government who are very much opposed to any open access operators – because they compete with the nationalised services and may show up their deficiences.
If these people get their way it’ll take us back to the days when British Rail opposed – and pretty much always prevented – any non British Rail train operating on its network. “Safety” was usually the grounds it based this on.
About time there was real competition on the WCML and on the NE/SW corridor through Birmingham.