The Anonymous Widower

ORR: Open Access Services Given Green Light Between London And Stirling

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from the Office of Rail and Road.

This is the sub-heading.

The latest access decision by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) provides more services for rail passengers travelling between London and central Scotland.

These five paragraphs detail the ORR’s decision.

ORR has today (7 March) given the go-ahead for Grand Union Trains, an open access operator, to start a new train service between London and the city of Stirling, from June 2025. ORR’s decision will offer more choice to passengers, bring private sector investment to the railway and increase competition.

Grand Union Trains will introduce four new return services per day between London Euston and Stirling stations. These services will also call at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe (subject to agreement between Grand Union Trains and Network Rail), Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert. Larbert, Greenfaulds and Whifflet will receive their first direct services to London.

ORR found that the proposed services would increase choice for passengers, significantly increasing direct journey opportunities to and from London and central and southern Scotland, while making use of existing capacity on the network.

The new services will be the first run by an open access operator on the West Coast Mainline. Open access operators run services independently of government funding as they do not have a franchise agreement with government.

Following ORR’s decision to approve new Grand Union Trains services between Carmarthen in south Wales and London Paddington in 2022, ORR has now approved open access services on three of Britain’s major routes.

Note.

1. The Grand Union service appears to be running into London Euston. Earlier plans had it terminating at Queen’s Park station.
2. Larbert, Greenfaulds and Whifflet will receive their first direct services to London.
3. London Euston and Stirling is electrified all the way.
4. The third open access service, that the ORR has approved is the Lumo service between King’s Cross and Edinburgh via the East Coast Main Line.

I have a few thoughts.

Stirling Is An Ideal Place To Explore Central Scotland By Train

In Stirling, I give the reasons, why I spent a couple of days in Stirling, when I wanted to visit several places in Central Scotland.

Note.

1. Stirling has direct services to Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth.
2. Aberdeen is one hour and 15 minutes away.
3. Dundee is just 63 minutes away.
4. Edinburgh is just 48 minutes away.
5. Glasgow is just 39 minutes away.
6. Inverness is two hours and 46 minutes away.

Stirling has about a dozen affordable hotels and guest houses within walking distance of the station, as this map shows.

Stirling would appear to have got Central Scotland covered.

Could The Train Serve Gleneagles?

Gleneagles is about twenty minutes North of Stirling and is served by the Caledonian Sleeper from London.

This Google Map shows the area around Gleneagles station.

Note.

1. Gleneagles station is at the bottom of the map.
2. The red arrow indicates the famous Gleneagles hotel.
3. The pink dots are other hotels.
4. Airbnb lists several very splendid properties in the varea.

Not everybody, who goes to the Gleneagles area will be exceedingly rich and I could see the Gleneagles area generating substantial business for Grand Union Trains. I suspect the best way to serve Gleneagles would be a zero-emission coach from Stirling.

Along The Motherwell And Cumbernauld Line

Between Motherwell and Stirling, a lot of the route used is on the Motherwell and Cumbernauld Line.

• The line is fully-electrified.
• It is only 28.9 miles between Motherwell and Stirling.
• \cumbernaukd and Motherwell takes 20 minutes.

I do wonder, if extra stops might be worthwhile.

Motherwell Has Good Connections To Edinburgh And Glasgow

As well as Stirling, Motherwell has good connections to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, so some passengers might find their most convenient route involves a change at Motherwell.

Nuneaton And Scotland Would Get A New Service

Nuneaton has been named by Avanti West Coast, as a place that needs more trains, as it connects with the service between Birmingham and Stansted Airport, via Coleshill Parkway, Leicester, Peterborough, March, Ely and Cambridge.

I suspect that, Nuneaton will become an interchange, between East Anglia and, the North West and West Scotland.

Milton Keynes And Scotland Should Get An Improved Service

Consider.

• It appears that all Avanti West Coast services between Milton Keynes and Scotland, go via Birmingham.
• I suspect that Grand Union’s route using the Trent Valley Line could be faster with similar trains.
• Creating a new route between Milton Keynes and Stirling could be a good move, as it gives one-change access to much of Central Scotland.
• Milton Keynes has good local connections to places like Northampton, Rugby, Tring and Watford Junction.
• Milton Keynes will be a stop on the new East-West Railway.
• From many stations, it will be quicker to go via Milton Keynes rather than Euston.

I suspect Milton Keynes could be a nice little earner.

Will Grand Union’s Trains Be Fitted With Digital Signalling?

Consider.

• At some point in the next ten years the West Coast Main Line will be fitted with digital signalling, to enable trains to run at 140 mph on selected parts of the route.
• Digital signalling will allow extra services between London Euston and Motherwell.
• Motherwell and London Euston is 388 miles.

I suspect, that Grand Union’s Trains will need to be fitted with digital signalling, so they can save time on services and possibly add in a few more.

It will add costs, although the faster speed will surely attract passengers.

Will Grand Union’s Trains Be Electric?

There are these train services going between England and Scotland.

• Avanti West Coast – London Euston to Edinburgh Waverley via Birmingham New Street – 7 tpd – Class 390 – Electric
• Avanti West Coast – London Euston to Glasgow Central via Birmingham New Street – 5 tpd – Class 390 – Electric
• Avanti West Coast – London Euston to Glasgow Central via Trent Valley – 1 tph – Class 390 – Electric
• CrossCountry – Plymouth to Edinburgh Waverley – 1 tph – Class 220/221 – Diesel – Uses diesel all the time
• LNER – London King’s Cross/Leeds to Aberdeen – 4 tpd – Class 800 – Bi-mode – Uses diesel North of Edinburgh
• LNER – London King’s Cross to Inverness – 1 tpd – Class 800 – Bi-mode – Uses diesel North of Stirling
• LNER – London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley – 3p2h – Class 800 – Bi-mode or Class 801 – Electric
• LNER – London King’s Cross to Glasgow Central – 1 tpd – Class 801 – Electric
• LNER – London King’s Cross to Stirling – 1 tpd – Class 801 – Electric
• Lumo – London King’s Cross to Edinburgh – 5 tpd – Class 803 – Electric
• TransPennine Express – Newcastle to Edinburgh Waverley – 7 tpd – Class 802 – Bi-mode
• TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central – 2 tpd – Class 397 – Electric
• TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport to Edinburgh Waverly – 1 tp2h – Class 397 – Electric
• TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport to Glasgow Central – 1 tp2h – Class 397 – Electric

Note.

1. tpd is trains per day.
2. tph is trains per hour.
3. tp2h is trains per two hours.
4. LNER services to Glasgow and Stirling are likely to be dropped.
5. Some Lumo services are likely to be extended from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
6. Many services South from Stirling to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street are electric.

The current two tpd direct trains to Stirling are electric and if you change at Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow, it is likely to be an all-electric service.

For marketing reasons, I would recommend, that Grand Union Trains ran electric trains between London Euston and Stirling, as they are competing against an all-electric service.

Although to meet service dates it might be necessary to run something like a diesel Class 222 train to get the service started.

What Trains Will Grand Union Use?

The Wikipedia entry for Grand Union Trains, says this for their London Euston and Stirling service.

In 2023 Grand Union revised its proposal changing its planned rolling stock to Class 22x units, at the same time the start date for this service was changed to June 2025.

I would suspect they will put in the order for new electric trains fairly sharpish.

The new trains could be.

• A variant of Hitachi’s Class 800 trains.
• A variant of CAF’s Class 397 trains.

Would they have an emergency battery un case of overhead line failure?

How Long Will A Service Take?

The service can be divided into two sections.

• London Euston and Motherwell – 388 miles.
• Motherwell and Stirling – 28.9 miles.

Note.

1. The 08:30 train from Euston to Motherwell takes 4 hours and 17 minutes with six stops via Nuneaton.
2. The Grand Union Trains service will also have six stops and go via Nuneaton.

I would expect with today’s signalling and electric trains, that Euston and Motherwell would take a maximum of 4 hours and 17 minutes.

• The twenty minute time to Cumbernauld could be added.
• The twenty-five minute time between Cumbernauld and Stirling could be added.

It looks the time would be just over five hours.

I doubt there would be much scope for increasing speed North of Motherwell, but could there be savings made to the South of Motherwell?

Consider.

• London Euston and Motherwell is 388 miles.
• Four hours and 17 minutes is 257 minutes.
• Motherwell is on the main London Euston and Glasgow Central route.

This is an average speed between London Euston and Motherwell of 90.6 mph.

By comparison.

• London King’s Cross and Edinburgh is 392.6 miles.
• Journeys can take four hours and 20 minutes or 260 minutes.

This is an average speed between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh of 90.6 mph.

In the next decade, there will be improvements on both the East and West Coast Main Lines.

• King’s Cross and Edinburgh is currently being digitally signalled.
• London Euston and Glasgow Central is likely to be an early priority for digital signalling after London King’s Cross and Edinburgh is completed.
• When High Speed Two opens to Birmingham and Lichfield, High Speed Two trains between London Euston and Glasgow Central will use the West Coast Main Line to the North of Lichfield.
• I wouldn’t be surprised to see some track realignment and modifications to improve speeds on the West Coast Main Line to the North of Lichfield.

I can build a table of times between London Euston and Motherwell against average speed.

• 90 mph – 4 hours 19 minutes
• 100 mph – 3 hours 53 minutes
• 110 mph – 3 hours 32 minutes
• 120 mph – 3 hours 14 minutes
• 125 mph – 3 hours 6 minutes
• 130 mph – 2 hours 59 minutes

Note.

1. Adding 15 minutes gives a London Euston and Glasgow Central time.
2. Adding 45 minutes gives a London Euston and Stirling time.
3. Averaging 120 mph would give London Euston and Glasgow Central or Stirling times of under four hours.

It strikes me, that to improve Anglo-Scottish relations and to make rail a better alternative to flying, a priority for all West Coast services is to improve the West Coast Main Line and install digital signalling, so that a 120 mph average is possible between London Euston and Motherwell.

What Difference Will High Speed Two Make?

High Speed Two is claiming it will knock thirty minutes off times between London Euston and Glasgow Central, when it opens to Birmingham and Lichfield.

But Grand Union Trains are not expected to use the new line between London Euston and Lichfield, as High Speed Two will, as it will make calling at Milton Keynes and Nuneaton impossible, as they are bypassed by High Speed Two.

Conclusion

This train service is going to be good for Milton Keynes, Nuneaton and Stirling and all the towns in Central Scotland.

But they must make full use of the available electrification.

 

 

March 11, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, Class 222 Train, Class 390 Train, Class 800 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 803 Trains, Digital Signalling, East West Railway, Euston Station, Gleneagles, Grand Union Trains, Hotel, Lumo, Milton Keynes Central Station, Nuneaton Station, Office Of Rail And Road, Open Access Operators, Scotland, Stirling Station, West Coast Main Line