Alliance Rail’s detailed plans for a revived Great North Eastern Railway brand as an open access operator on the East Coast Main Line have been given a public airing, ahead of an Office of Rail and Road determination later in the summer.
If approved, hourly train services would begin within 36 months, with Alliance running a London-Newcastle-Edinburgh service with a journey time of 3 hours 43 minutes.
Aiming a new service at both the business and leisure travel markets, GNER is proposing the quickest ever journey between Edinburgh-London and Edinburgh-Newcastle, with journey time benefits promoted as bringing forward the benefits of HS2 by nearly 20 years.
Alliance, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, intends to introduce a fleet of new-generation Alstom Pendolinos, offering what it calls an “exceptional on-board experience offering over 500 seats over a variety of classes to suit every budget”.
- For more on this story, read RAIL 776, published on June 10.
Jane Robertson - 17/06/2015 13:26
Not more dreaded Pendolinos. Speaking as a passenger I would rather keep the existing rolling stock. Comfortable, airy and, most importantly, with ample luggage space. Travelling on the existing Pendolino trains is a misery because the luggage carrying facilities are totally inadequate.