Grand Union Trains has been given the go ahead to start a new train service between London and Stirling, providing more services between London and Central Scotland.
Grand Union Trains will introduce four services a day between London Euston and Stirling, calling at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert from June 2025.
Larbert, Greenfaulds and Whifflet will receive their first direct train services to London.
Grand Union had previously been approved to run on the WCML back in 2018 but did not launch a service due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
Our decision helps increase services for passengers and boost competition on Britain’s railway network
Stephanie Tobyn, Director, Strategy, Policy and & Reform
These new services are the first to be run by an open access operator on the West Coast Main Line.
Grand Union Trains were approved to operate a service between Carmarthen and London Paddington in 2022, and with the likes of Lumo on the East Coast Main Line, it means the ORR has approved open access services on three of Britain’s major rail routes.
The approval letter states that Grand Union are likely to use off-lease Class 221 Super Voyagers and Class 222 Meridian trains.
The new operation is set to be based in Scotland, where trains will be maintained, with additional bases at Preston or Crewe to operate the southern end of the route, with an expected 100 new and permanent jobs to be created.
“Our decision helps increase services for passengers and boost competition on Britain’s railway network. 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.”
Stephanie Tobyn, Director, Strategy, Policy and & Reform
Responses
This article was interesting until I read that they are planning to use Class 221 Super Voyagers and Class 222 Meridian trains, the ORR should have denied this service based purely on this rolling stock, having used the overcrowded XC service for my daily commute these trains are not up to long distance travel – should have used the far better / comfier / quieter Mk4 coaches teamed with an efficient electric loco as per their initial application.
No through trains planned to Fishguad ( for Rosslare)?
No call at Stafford either which would have been a good stop for the midlands
Too late for refurbished class 90 and Mk4 coaches which was originally planned for London Euston to Blackpool North because all Mk4 coaches were sold off to Transport for Wales to work Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central/Swansea!! 🤦
This shows the problem with how the railway is managed overall, especially with rolling stock. Quite possibly LNER will decide to dispense with their remaining mark 4s in a year or two and they’ll be sent for scrap.
There are some electric options available rather than clas 221s or 222s
Class 90s with MK3 or MK4 stock is a good idea
What about class 91s and soon to be ousted LNER stock ?
This to me is better than long term reliance of diesel traction and will be seen as Eco friendly
Why can’t Grand Union run through to Inverness instead of terminating at Stirling?
Why not all the way to Wick?
It’s 3 hours each way from Stirling to Inverness, so adding 6 hours onto the round trip would mean they would either need additional trains and crew or would have to reduce the number of services running per day. It’s very unlikely that the trains would be as well used north of Stirling, meaning that they would struggle to cover costs. Also, much of the line is single track with passing loops, which means that pathing additional trains is complex and likely to reduce reliability.
Open Access a fig leaf for the disaster that was the 1993 Rail Act. The bow tied nut case ideologues of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Adam Smith Institute thinking wanted to quote a famous document ‘A return to a Victorian System’. They got their wish. in effect, share group private monopolies . propped up by the tax payer created. O[en Accees is a chimera to disguise the fact competition NEVER really happened.A fresh broom at Transport will soon reveal how the market id being swung for them EG track access charges. Good riddance the B lot of them. The railways in an awful state since the ideologues were let lose.
Open access operators do not pay their full infrastructure costs and waste track capacity on the network with small trains.
Like East Midlands Trains!
Just another operator running diesel trains under the wire on a network that should have been upgraded to Very High Speed Trains under HS2 but cancelled under this government.
More mixed and confused messages from the people who haven’t got a clue
What about stopping at Manchester too?
Manchester is not on the West Coast main line.
Perfectly possible but platforms 13 & 14 at Piccadilly have no spare capacity.
Technically possible but no spare capacity through Oxford Road.
Anything has got to be better than Avanti west coast and Transpennine Express This will give Lockerbie better connections.
Although new rail services are always very welcome News, I would question the use of diesel traction over a route which is predominantly electrified. I would also question the idea of “competition” in so far as allowing different operators to charge different fares on the same route. This flies in the face of attempts to simplify our overcomplicated and befuddling fares structure. What we want as passengers is consistent, good value fares across the whole network at all times, not just on certain selected services.
The significant word there is ‘predominantly’. Unless they are able to source dual-mode trains, diesel is the only option, electric trains being notoriously difficult to operate on non-electrified lines.
The route is entirely under wires!
Unlike in England, the Scots have made a very good job of electrifying their network. The operator has gone for the easy option by using cast off Voyagers. These noisy washing machines on rails are no good for long distance. Refurbished class 90s and mark four coaches would have been the superior choice. What is wrong with our rail industry these days? Where’s the imagination? Stop scoring environmental own goals like this!
If the service is successful, no doubt they will order bimodes or electric stock.
Trouble is those trains are that bad the footfall will be reduced. I live in Stirling and wouldn’t get a Super Voyager for 5 hours each way to London. Have gone out of my way to avoid those for years on the West Coast.