New London to Scotland rail service gets the go ahead with cheaper fares expected

A new rail service between London and Stirling has been given the green light by the regulator and is expected to lower fares on the West Coast Mainline.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said it had given the go-ahead to Grand Union trains, an open access operator, to start the service between the capital and central Scotland.

Grand Union trains will introduce four new return services per day from London Euston and Stirling stations.

The new route will call at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.

It marks the first open access operator to run on the West Coast Mainline. The open-access model allows companies to take full commercial risk and avoid hefty franchising fees, while receiving no taxpayer subsidies.

It was introduced post-privatisation to provide traditional train operating firms with extra competition, bringing down rail fares and encouraging passengers to use rail rather than cars or flights.

Stephanie Tobyn, director of strategy, policy and reform at the ORR, 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, Grand Central, Eurostar, Heathrow Express and Hull and Lumo are the only open-access operators in the UK currently.

In an interview with City A.M. last week, Lumo’s chief executive Martijn Gilbert argued more would bring down Britain’s rail fares.

“Every time they’ve been introduced into the market, they have helped unlock better value fares for customers,” he said.