The rail regulator has given the green light for a new operator to provide services on the west coast mainline from London to Scotland, as the government aims to ramp up competition on the train network.
Grand Union has been given the go-ahead by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to start running services from London Euston to Stirling from June 2025, in a move the regulator said would increase competition and choice for passengers.
Four return services to Stirling will run daily from Euston, and stop at Milton Keynes, Preston and Carlisle, directly competing with Avanti, the current franchise operator for the line.
In Scotland it will stop at Whifflet, Greenfaulds, Larbert and Stirling, which do not currently have a direct service to and from London.
Grand Union will run the service as an open access operator, a provider that can apply for access to lines, without requiring government subsidy and taking on full commercial risk. It is the first open access operator to use the west coast mainline.
In February 2023, when setting out the government’s plan for rail, the transport secretary, Mark Harper, said it would provide support for more open access operators, saying they would play an important part in the future of the railway.
There are three open access operators on the east coast mainline, including Lumo, owned by FirstGroup, which runs services between London and Edinburgh, and Grand Central, which runs from London to Sunderland and Bradford.
These numbers are expected to grow in the future, with Grand Union securing permission to run services on the Great Western mainline between London Paddington and Carmarthen in south Wales from 2025.
FirstGroup last week announced it was in discussion with regulators about extending some of its London-Edinburgh Lumo services to and from Glasgow.
Grand Union was set up by the former British Rail executive Ian Yeowart, who also created other open access operator Grand Central Trains in 1999, before it was sold to Arriva in 2011.
According to the company, the services from London to Stirling will include free wifi for all passengers and provide more legroom when compared with other services. The company, which will be based in Scotland, will also create 100 full-time roles.
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Stephanie Tobyn, the ORR’s director of strategy, policy and and reform, said: “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.”
Grand Union was approached for comment.
