Three train operators on the East Coast Main Line have been given permission to run additional services from December.
Industry regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved proposals from open access operators Lumo, Grand Central and Hull Trains. The move opens the way for more direct links between London King’s Cross and Glasgow, Hull and Newcastle and will also introduce links to other destinations, including Seaham.
The proposal from Sunderland-based Grand Central, from December, will allow for two additional Wakefield Kirkgate to Bradford Interchange services on weekdays and Saturdays; one additional Bradford Interchange to Wakefield Kirkgate service on weekdays and Saturdays; and one additional Bradford Interchange to Wakefield Kirkgate service in each direction on Sundays, and some additional Seaham calls on existing services.
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Newcastle-based operator Lumo will add an additional return service between London King's Cross and Newcastle on weekdays, and one additional service from the capital to Tyneside on weekends. It will also extend some of its existing London King’s Cross-Edinburgh services to Glasgow,
Meanwhile Hull Trains will offer an additional train from King's Cross to Hull on weekdays and Saturdays from December. The ORR rejected some proposals - including a Hull Trains suggestion of new services between London and Sheffield - citing concerns over insufficient capacity, the potential impact on performance and the effect on Government revenue
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said: “Approving these additional open access services will increase connectivity on the East Coast Main Line. Importantly, we have ensured the approval of these services can be accommodated alongside the major service uplifts by other operators , which have been planned into the December 2025 timetable, so together passengers and freight customers can benefit from more direct connections and greater choice from December.”
Hull Trains' owner FirstGroup said it was "disappointed" by the decision not to allow King's Cross to Sheffield trains as it would have been the first regular service between the South Yorkshire city and the capital since 1968.
Open access operators set their own fares, take on all revenue risk and receive no taxpayer-funded subsidies. They are excluded from the Government’s ongoing nationalisation of Britain’s train services.
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Earlier this year Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander wrote to the ORR saying the open access model can cause "potential congestion" and result in taxpayers being “left to fill shortfalls” in maintenance costs. She said she expects “the impacts on the taxpayer and on overall performance” to be “ given primacy” by the regulator when it analyses open access proposals.
Government-owned LNER, which runs services on the East Coast Main Line, is planning a major timetable change in December, with up to 37 daily services and quicker journeys between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh. It has previously described the overhaul as “transformational” and “the biggest change in a generation”.