BRITAIN’s rail regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), approved an application from Grand Union Trains (GUT) to run an open-access passenger service between London and Stirling on March 7.
Up to four trains per day will run each way on the electrified West Coast Main Line (WCML) from London Euston, with intermediate stops at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.
Approval to operate on this route runs from June 2025 to June 2030. While GUT had originally planned to use new bi-mode trains, it then suggested it would instead operate cascaded class 91 electric locomotives and mk 4 coaches.
However, the non-availability of this rolling stock, which has either been purchased by other operators or scrapped, means that the initial service will be operated with twenty-year old class 221 Super Voyager or class 222 Meridian diesel trains due to come off lease over the next two years.
ORR did not uphold objections from existing WCML operators Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains, which both argued that GUT would abstract unacceptable levels of revenue from existing operators, as well as creating performance and capacity issues.
The Department for Transport did not comment on the application, but Transport Scotland responded outside the formal application process, expressing a preference for electric traction on electrified routes. It however recognises the environmental benefits of electric and diesel-powered rail services over other modes.
“Our decision helps increase services for passengers and boost competition on Britain’s railway network,” says Ms Stephanie Tobyn, director of strategy, policy and reform at ORR. “By providing more trains serving new destinations, open-access operators offer passengers more choice in the origin and price of their journey, leading to better outcomes for rail users.”
GUT, which is backed by private equity firm Serena Industrial Partners and Spanish national operator Renfe, also gained approval from ORR in December 2022 to run five trains per day for up to 10 years on an open-access basis between London and Carmarthen in Wales, using new bi-mode trains.
Delays to procuring these trains, which have still to be ordered, mean that the anticipated start date for these services is now 2027, two years later than originally planned.
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