Virgin has dropped Glasgow from its list of proposed destinations, as it reduces the size of its West Coast Main Line (WCML) open access plans.
Virgin has dropped Glasgow from its list of proposed destinations, as it reduces the size of its West Coast Main Line (WCML) open access plans.
The operator had wanted to run up to 68 trains a day between London Euston and various cities, in an application that has been with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) since May 2024.
However, it has removed the eight Glasgow services (four each way) from its application, as well as reducing the number of trains it intends to run elsewhere.
It now proposes to run four a day to and from Birmingham New Street (previously nine Up, seven Down) and nine to and from Liverpool Lime Street (previously 15 each way). It still plans to serve Preston and Rochdale (five times and twice a day respectively) via Manchester Victoria.
That reduction means a total of 40 services are now proposed.
Virgin told RAIL that the initial plan was “exploring what was possible”, and that it had adapted its proposal following conversations with ORR and Network Rail.
Speaking about the reduction in Birmingham services, Virgin said on its updated P Form submitted to ORR: “The current operator (Avanti West Coast) is seeking to reintroduce some services between London and Birmingham New Street. Consequently, these services once reintroduced should adequately serve the market requirements on this corridor.”
The move comes as Network Rail outlined the scale of the challenge it faces in trying to accommodate the various proposed open access services from Virgin, FirstGroup and Wrexham Shropshire & Midlands Railway on the southern end of the WCML, along with new paths for Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper and West Midlands Trains.
NR said its Advanced Timetable Team indicated a “theoretical available capacity of nine Up direction paths and nine Down direction paths” on Fast lines between London and Nuneaton, after FirstGroup’s open access service to Stirling and Avanti’s second hourly Liverpool service have been included.
Writing to ORR, NR’s Head of Franchise Management Paul Harris said: “Within the unsupported applications there are 46 paths in the Down direction and 50 in the Up direction either originating or arriving at London Euston - far more that the potential theoretical capacity available.”
NR also raised timetabling concerns, saying the number of services running on minimum headway (the shortest time interval allowed between successive trains) has increased since 2019, and will go up again once all Stirling services and additional Liverpool trains are running.
Harris wrote: “Any services introduced in the potential nine available paths would further increase the number of services planned on minimum headway, reducing the number of firebreaks in the timetable and the ability to withstand typical variations in train presentation without significant spread of delay between services and across service groups.”
He also said performance testing led to the expectation that WCML performance will deteriorate once the Stirling and Liverpool services commence, and that NR’s view was that the number of Fast Line services in December 2022’s Concept Train Plan had “reached a critical threshold level in terms of manageable capacity utilisation, beyond which the introduction of any further services was likely to trigger a notable compromise to network performance through increased reactionary delay”.
NR highlighted the increase in services in each timetable change since December 2022, which is coupled with a decline in the number of on-time arrivals since COVID.
Describing WCML performance as “fragile”, NR said it expects resilience to be “significantly reduced” if more access rights and services were accommodated.
In response to NR’s letter, Phil Whittingham, Virgin’s project lead, said the company agreed that there were unused paths on the WCML, and that its bids have “sought to make use of both those capacity opportunities”.
“Our timetable planning has shown that these are viable paths that can operate seven days a week and we are ready to work with NR planners to refine these services,” he wrote.
Whittingham also said Platform 16 at Euston should be reinstated into capacity plans, after NR removed it owing to the expectation that it would be temporarily de-commissioned for HS2 work.
Virgin said that as work is paused, bringing it back in would allow “much greater flexibility”.
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AlanHogg - 01/04/2025 15:47
Completely mad. WCML already full