The United Kingdom’s all-electric, low-cost train operator Lumo has announced expansion plans spanning the UK, including a brand-new route from south Wales to northeast England, and a revised one from the South Pennines to the capital.
Using the language of railway heritage as well as the current Labour government’s planned state-owned railway company, Lumo’s owner, FirstGroup plc, has hailed its proposed Wales to York route as a way to connect “the entire Great British Railways Network.” The line would link Cardiff to the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line, calling at the UK’s second city, Birmingham, as well as Derby and Sheffield, with six return services every weekday – a six-fold increase. The route is described by FirstGroup as “an underserved corridor.”
In addition, a new direct service between Rochdale and London Euston, with stops at Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows, and Warrington Bank Quay, has been put forward in response to an initially rejected proposal earlier this year. Three return journeys would run on weekdays and Sundays, while four would operate on Saturdays, giving 1.6 million people in the north-west “convenient and competitively priced” access to London and back. If approved, it would launch in December 2028.
Lumo, described by some as the “Ryanair of rail” thanks to its budget model, successfully bid for a Stirling to London Euston route earlier this year, with the 23 weekly return services set to start in 2027. It has also added Glasgow Queen Street as a new terminus on its London to Edinburgh route.
Commenting on the company’s expansion, chief executive Graham Sutherland said: “Our new services will allow us to bring the substantial benefits of open access to even more communities, at no additional cost to the taxpayer. Lumo also pays more towards infrastructure investment than other long-distance operators, delivering growth on the railway and connectivity to local communities, so the whole system gains.” The “open-access services” are a key to “unlock private investment, creating jobs and shifting travel towards more sustainable options,” he added.
In further good news for UK rail passengers, would-be Eurostar competitor Virgin has gained permission from the ORR regulator to use London’s Temple Mills International rail depot to maintain its 12-strong fleet, meaning Virgin is now set to launch cross-Channel services from London St Pancras to Europe by 2030. Virgin boss, Sir Richard Branson, said the decision “is the right one for consumers – it’s time to end this 30-year monopoly and bring some Virgin magic to the cross-Channel route.”
