The role and scale of open access on the rail network is becoming one of the key talking points during rail reform.
The role and scale of open access on the rail network is becoming one of the key talking points during rail reform.
Arriva and FirstGroup both already own open access operators; Arriva’s Grand Central runs from King’s Cross-Bradford Interchange and Sunderland, while FirstGroup runs from King’s Cross to Hull and Edinburgh with Hull Trains and Lumo respectively.
However, both have their eyes on serving new destinations. And they’re not alone.
RAIL has calculated that at present there are 13 new open access routes being planned. Some have been approved but haven’t yet started, while others haven’t even gone out for industry consultation yet.
Potential operators range from the small (Go-op with its regional Somerset and Wiltshire service) to the very large (Virgin plans to serve four destinations off the West Coast Main Line from London each day).
Here is a round-up of all the new routes being proposed by open access operators.
Alliance Rail: London Waterloo/Southampton-Marchwood
Status: Submitted
Ian Yeowart’s firm submitted its application to the Office of Rail and Road in April.
Alliance Rail (part of Grand Union) wants to reopen part of the Waterside Line in Hampshire with an hourly service between Marchwood and Southampton, with every other train continuing to London Waterloo.
The operator wants to be up and running by the end of 2026.
FirstGroup: Edinburgh Waverley-Glasgow Queen Street
Status: Submitted, awaiting final representation and decision
FirstGroup is looking to extend some of its King's Cross-Edinburgh services across the Central Belt and into Glasgow Queen Street, stopping at Haymarket and Falkirk High, saying it will enhance the competition for the London-Glasgow route, specifically targeting the low-cost air market.
While the Department for Transport (DfT) has said it doesn't support the proposal because of the potential impact on services in the region and CrossCountry is investigating reinstating services along the route, Network Rail has said it supports two services towards Glasgow but only one in the other direction.
FirstGroup: London Euston-Rochdale
Status: Submitted, awaiting final representation and decision
FirstGroup wants to bring the Lumo brand to the West Coast Main Line with a new service linking Rochdale with London for the first time since 2000.
The application has support from local politicians, but the DfT has said it doesn’t support the plans, and Network Rail is expected to follow suit, citing revenue abstraction and capacity concerns respectively.
FirstGroup: London Euston-Stirling
Status: Approved
Grand Union Trains received the go-ahead in March 2024 before selling the operation to FirstGroup. Originally slated to start in June 2025, services are now expected to begin in 2026, although no firm date has been announced. A five-year access was given by the regulator.
In June it confirmed that Class 222 units, currently with East Midlands Railway, will be used.
FirstGroup: London King’s Cross-Sheffield
Status: Submitted, awaiting final representation and decision
The Hull Trains brand would be used for this service which would turn off the East Coast Main Line at Retford. The Department for Transport has said it doesn’t support the application with Network Rail adopting the same stance due capacity on the ECML and at Sheffield, as well as infrastructure concerns near Retford.
FirstGroup: London Paddington-Carmarthen
Status: Approved
Another Grand Union application which was acquired by FirstGroup. ORR gave the operation ten-year track access rights for services to start in 2023, but that was later put back to December 2027. FirstGroup took over the route in December last year and has ordered new Hitachi units.
FirstGroup: London Paddington-Hereford
Status: Submitted
FirstGroup announced on June 6 that it had applied for permission to start another new route; London Paddington-Hereford via Bristol Parkway and Cwmbran.
It wants to run services under the Lumo banned, and said they would be quicker than those that run between London and Hereford via Oxford and Worcester.
FirstGroup: London Paddington-Paignton
Status: Submitted
Announced at the same time as the acquisition of the Carmarthen operation, FirstGroup wants to serve the Devon coastal town from May 2028 with a service that runs via Bristol. The application is with ORR though Network Rail has already raised capacity concerns.
Go-op: Taunton-Swindon/Weston-Super-Mare
Status: Approved
Approval of the co-operative company’s application in November 2024 was a surprise to some.
The local operator plans to run services via Westbury but must fund level crossing improvements before trains can run. It has recently told RAIL about a change in approach to attract investment and must start operating in 2026.
Grand Central: Brighton-Newcastle
Status: Out for industry consultation
The Arriva-owned operator announced its first cross-country plan in late April. With an end-to-end journey time of more than seven hours, trains from Brighton would reverse at Redhill to travel via Reading, Birmingham New Street, Sheffield and York.
Industry consultation runs until late May.
Grand Central: London King’s Cross-Cleethorpes
Status: Industry consultation concluded
Grand Central wants to add Cleethorpes to its list of destinations served from King’s Cross. It intends for ten-car services to run between London and Doncaster where they’d divide with one unit continuing on the existing route to Bradford and the other heading to the coastal town. Stops would be at Scunthorpe, Habrough and Grimsby Town.
Industry consultation closed in early May.
SLC Rail: Bristol Temple Meads-Nottingham
Status: Submitted
RAIL revealed in April how SLC Rail, one of the firms behind the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway, is planning two new cross-country services.
One is the Midland Central and Western Railway, running from Bristol to Nottingham via Oxford and Bedford, which would involve traversing East West Rail.
SLC Rail: Rhoose Cardiff International Airport-Liverpool
Status: Submitted
The rail consultany is also planning a service under the banner of the Liverpool & South Wales Railway. It wants to run via Hereford, Shrewsbury and Chester.
L&SWR says it believes there is “significant merit” in introducing direct ‘inter-city’ styled services on the main line route between Liverpool, the Marches, and Cardiff.
Virgin: London Euston-Birmingham New Street/Liverpool/Preston/Rochdale
Status: Submitted, awaiting final representation and decision
The biggest open access plan at present, Virgin wants to fill unused Avanti West Coast paths to run 40 trains a day in and out of Euston. The plans have recently been scaled back, with the number of services to Birmingham and Liverpool withdrawn and Glasgow removed from the proposal.
The Department for Transport has said it does not support the application due to,
Network Rail is expected to take the same position due to capacity concerns.
Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway: Wrexham General-London Euston
Status: Submitted, awaiting final representation and decision
A cross-party group of MPs recently wrote to Network Rail expressing their support for the plan which would run via Shrewsbury, Walsall and Nuneaton.
The Department for Transport supports the plan put forward by Alstom and SLC Rail, however capacity concerns on the WCML mean Network Rail is set to not give the proposal its backing.
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Dave M - 14/05/2025 09:30
New routes different companies if approved will put a wedge between other rail operators, many parts of the rail system are local lines / Branch lines will be left out and made unprofitable, companies should plan ahead for new services and not disconnect every town and city and not forgetting villages thay need rail services.