Rise in open access applications
FirstGroup seeks to serve Sheffield, while Wrexham and Shropshire could return.
FIRSTGROUP has applied to the Office of Rail and Road to run trains between King’s Cross and Sheffield via Retford.
The new service would be an extension of its Hull Trains operation and offer a faster journey to the South Yorkshire city than those routed via the Midland Main Line.
Two daily return trips are initially planned with calling points at Worksop and Woodhouse.
The application reflects past use of the East Coast Main Line to reach Sheffield, such as the ‘Master Cutler’ Pullman that ran via Retford until 1966, as well as the low market share held by rail for journeys between Sheffield and London, three quarters of which are made using private cars and a further 9% by coach.
That market share was the basis of FirstGroup’s application to run the Lumo open access service between Edinburgh and King’s Cross, which offered reduced fares to compete with airline travel and has attracted more than two million passengers since the service began in October 2021.
Lumo runs five daily return services calling at Morpeth and Newcastle using a fleet of five-car Class 803 EMUs which are configured as Standard Class-only.
All successful open access operations so far are on the East Coast Main Line, which in part reflects work done to increase capacity – including Hitchin flyover, the closure of Barkston Junction north of Grantham, and Werrington dive-under north of Peterborough.
GWML enhancements
On the Great Western Main Line, Grand Union Trains has received approval to operate between Carmarthen and London, with intermediate calls that include Cardiff.
The ORR’s decision letter of December 1, 2022 provides a useful insight into the forecast revenue for the services by indicating that 44% would be new business. An attraction will be non-stop running between Bristol Parkway and Paddington. However, it is understood the start date has been put back beyond the intended December 2024 timetable change.
The response by Great Western Railway to GUT has been to increase services to Carmarthen, which has the potential to weaken the revenue of the new open access operator, although the Competition and Markets Authority has powers to intervene if any action is seen as being an abuse of monopoly power.
Elsewhere, GWR is seeking to reflect the post-Covid growth of demand in the leisure market, with the reinstatement of direct services between Bristol and Oxford. These were withdrawn in 2003 because of congestion at Didcot West Curve, which was heavily used at the time by MGR coal trains serving the now-closed power station.
Grand Union Trains has also broken new ground by applying to operate crosscountry services from Cardiff to Edinburgh via Birmingham. All previous open access applications have concentrated on providing improved links with London, which dominates the rail market for travel between the largest conurbations, and attracts business travel with passengers paying higher fares than journeys made for leisure.
Wrexham revival
The West Coast Main Line has not seen any open access services to date.
One factor was an agreement with previous franchised operator Virgin Trains to acquire ‘Pendolinos’ included protection from competition for 15 years. This became significant when open access operator Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway (WSMR) was denied access to carry passengers between Wolverhampton and London.
Although WSMR operated between 2008 and 2011, it was not viable. A new application to run services between Wrexham and London has now been made to the ORR, with WSMR now retitled as the Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway seeking access rights to Euston.
The end of restrictions at Wolverhampton, and the likely use of Class 221/222 DMUs released by either Avanti or
East Midlands Railway, will enable faster journeys and a better chance of success. Paths to provide five weekday return services (four on Sundays) have been confirmed based on December’s timetable. Calling points are Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton, Darlaston (new), Walsall, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, and Milton Keynes.
The ORR had previously approved open access services on the WCML for Euston to Blackpool services, but the pandemic disrupted the startup, and backer Arriva withdrew financial support given the likely scale of initial losses.