Scotland to London by rail – for just £50 return!

PLANS to launch a budget train service between edinburgh and London costing less than £50 for a return ticket were announced yesterday.

British transport giant FirstGroup said it had agreed a £100million deal with Hitachi Rail for five new AT300 125mph intercity electric trains.

The no-frills four-hour service is expected to begin in autumn 2021 and will compete with the operator of the InterCity east Coast franchise – currently London North eastern Railway – and airlines. each train will consist of five carriages – all standard class – with a total of 400 seats.

Their design and branding has not been confirmed but they will include on-board catering and free wifi. Average one-way fares will be less than £25, according to FirstGroup.

Yesterday, a return ticket for travel on LNeR in early April cost £110. LNeR is owned by the Government following the collapse of the Virgin Trains east Coast franchise

FirstGroup will operate five services a day in each direction between edinburgh Waverley and London King’s Cross, calling at Morpeth, Newcastle and Stevenage. The first service of the day from London is expected to arrive in edinburgh by 10am in a bid to attract business passengers who usually fly.

The majority of rail services in Britain are operated by fixed-term franchises awarded by the Department for Transport.

But there are a handful of open access services – such as Hull Trains and Grand Central – which involve firms buying individual slots on the mainline and competing with franchised operators.

FirstGroup was granted permission in 2016 by the office of Rail and Road to run such a service between edinburgh and London for ten years.

Steve Montgomery, managing director of the company’s rail division, said: ‘There’s a real gap in the market for truly affordable rail travel between the two capitals.

‘our plans show we are serious about competing with low-cost airlines and opening up rail travel to thousands of new passengers.’

ScotRail chiefs are in the ‘last chance saloon’ following another week of rail chaos.

Nicola Sturgeon said that Dutchowned Abellio, which has held the ScotRail franchise since 2015, could be stripped of the deal if it fails to improve.

She told MSPs the firm runs ‘the risk of the franchise being terminated early’.

‘There’s a real gap in the market’