Opposition to Grand Union Trains’ Carmarthen-London plans
Grand Union Trains has filed its application to run five daily return services from Carmarthen to London in just over two years’ time.
The open access operator wants a 20-year contract. But it has already run into stiff opposition from rival passenger operators. It has also received a cool reception from the Office of Rail and Road.
GUT has had to revise its plans because delays in preparing the bid mean that it has missed the boat on surplus East Coast ‘IC225’ coaches, which have gone for scrap or are still required on the London-Scotland route.
This means ordering new bi-mode trains to commence services sometime during the 12-month timetable that starts in December 2024.
“There is little prospect of them [IC225s] becoming available within the time we had identified,” said GUT Managing Director Ian Yeowart.
“Delivery times for new build will ultimately depend on the chosen manufacturer, but we are advised this could be between 24 and 36 months from order.
“Passengers will benefit from the best experience in the market with bigger seats, more legroom, increased luggage space, and a buffet car on every service.”
The new service is being developed in partnership with European investment company Serena Industrial Partners and Spanish train operator RENFE. As a gesture to Transport for Wales, it is intended that the new trains could be stabled and serviced in the principality, although Cardiff Canton has been ruled out because it is at full capacity.
The bid also includes a planned new park-and-ride station at
Felindre (next to the M4 motorway just north of Swansea), with space for 500 cars.
It is reckoned that journey times from Carmarthen and Llanelli to Cardiff, via Cardiff Central, Newport and Severn Tunnel Junction and on to Paddington, would be cut by 20 minutes.
GUT has dropped the idea of launching the new services in two phases, the first of which was intended to be London-Cardiff from May 2023, with West Wales added two years later. It will now run in full, from the start.
Great Western Railway is opposed to the Carmarthen plans because of the serious damage it says it will cause its South Wales business.
GWR currently runs two trains per hour from London to Cardiff, one of which continues to Swansea. There are already around 25 trains per day from Carmarthen to Swansea, with 18 continuing to Cardiff. GWR says it has its own plans to improve its services to, from and within Wales, which it says offer a significant passenger and taxpayer benefit compared with GUT’s plans.
The ORR is concerned that the launch date coincides with the acceleration of HS2 construction in the Old Oak Common area in west
London. It warns of a temporary reduction in services through the Thames Valley instead of adding new ones.
“Between 2023 and the end of 2028, work will significantly ramp up, with access to Paddington via the GWML [Great Western Main Line] expected to be unavailable for extended periods,” said ORR.
“HS2 also has ambitious targets to transport material to and from work sites via rail, rather than road. Should this happen, this new service would incur disruptive access requests from the outset and for several years afterwards, incurring additional cost to the taxpayer-funded HS2 project by way of compensation payments.”
GUT has responded by saying that GWR has already withdrawn services since the COVID crisis. It has also pointed out how much private operators have stimulated passenger growth on the East Coast, including for LNER.
The application is also opposed by CrossCountry, which has voiced concerns about Network Rail being able to provide sufficient train paths, times, the ability to run at 125mph on the GWML, and contingencies for failures.
Freight operator Freightliner wrote to the ORR about route congestion: “Intermodal traffic has
been a significant growth area in recent years, and Network Rail has invested in improvements to the GWML between Didcot and South Wales for the movement of High Cube W10 containers. Freightliner has aspirations to route all its traffic via the main line between Didcot and Patchway.
“As a result of the GWR ‘Bristol Superfast’ services appearing in the timetable, intermodal traffic is forced to run via Chippenham, Bath and Filton Abbey Wood as sufficient space is not available in the timetable to run via Hullavington.
“This leads to performance issues in the Bristol area with long intermodal trains having to negotiate slow-speed complex junctions with insufficient standage available to allow regulating decisions to be made.”
■ Grand Union Trains is also applying for a four times per day service from Stirling to Euston in 2025, avoiding Edinburgh and Glasgow.