A new train service between London and central Scotland will launch on May 25, operator Lumo has announced. The FirstGroup-owned company said its West Coast Main Line (WCML) operation between Euston and Stirling is designed to offer low-cost fares and attract more people to train over air and road.
Route and Stops
Trains will call at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert. There will be up to four return services a day on the full route, with an additional daily return service between Euston and Preston.
This will provide more competition for several operators such as Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and London Northwestern. Unlike those services, Lumo trains will be a single class with no premium offering.
Fares and Operation
Fares will start at £29.90 between Euston and Stirling, £23.90 between Euston and Preston, and £14.90 between Preston and Stirling. Lumo currently only runs on the East Coast Main Line, connecting London King's Cross with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Falkirk. It operates on an open access basis, meaning it sets its own fares, takes on all revenue risk and receives no taxpayer-funded subsidies. This means it is not affected by the Government's renationalisation of all remaining franchised train services in Britain.
FirstGroup holds track access rights from regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for the route on the West Coast Main Line until 2030.
Launch Partnership
Lumo is marking its WCML launch by partnering with the Stirling Pride festival to give away free tickets for travel to London. Stuart Jones, managing director of First Rail Open Access, said: 'This is a very exciting moment in our journey to launching a pioneering new service for the West Coast. Customers can look forward to simple, low-cost fares with an excellent experience on our services between Scotland, the North West of England and London. I'm very proud that we're already forging some meaningful connections in the communities on the route.'
'Thank you to the team at Stirling Pride for helping us to reveal the news of our official start date in true Lumo style, by giving people in the city a chance to join us on a journey very soon.'
Regulatory Concerns
In January, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander wrote to ORR chairman Declan Collier expressing concerns that the open access model can cause 'potential congestion' and result in taxpayers being 'left to fill shortfalls' in maintenance costs. She stated it is her 'expectation' that 'the impacts on the taxpayer and on overall performance' are 'given primacy' by the regulator when it analyses proposals.
