New train services approved on east coast line

Hull Trains will run additional services between London King's Cross and Hull

Additional train services will run on the East Coast Main Line from December, the rail regulator has said.

Three open-access operators – Lumo, Grand Central and Hull Trains – applied to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to expand their timetables

The successful proposals include additional trains between London and each of Hull, Newcastle and Glasgow.

But ORR rejected some plans, including a bid by Hull Trains to run direct services between London and Sheffield, due to concerns about insufficient capacity on the line.

FirstGroup, which owns Hull Trains, said it was "disappointed" by the decision, as it would have provided Sheffield with its first regular service from London King's Cross since 1968.

It claimed the direct service would have served "an estimated 350,000 people".

Hull Trains was given permission to run an additional service from London King's Cross to Hull on weekdays and Saturdays.

Lumo will be allowed to extend its existing London-Edinburgh service to Glasgow, and will also put on additional services between King's Cross and Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Grand Central will expand its regional services with a new link to Seaham, on the County Durham coast, and additional trains between Wakefield and Bradford.

'Greater choice'

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR's director of strategy, policy and reform, said: "We have ensured the approval of these services can be accommodated alongside the major service uplifts by other operators, which have been planned into the December 2025 timetable."

Passengers and freight customers would benefit from "more direct connections and greater choice", she added.

Open-access operators set their own fares, take on all revenue risk and receive no taxpayer-funded subsidies.

They are also excluded from the government's ongoing nationalisation of the UK's train services.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander wrote to the ORR in January to highlight concerns about the open-access model causing "potential congestion" and taxpayers being "left to fill shortfalls" in maintenance costs.

The approval of additional services comes after LNER, the government-owned operator that runs services on the East Coast Main Line, announced changes to timetables from December, with up to 37 daily services and quicker journeys between London King's Cross and Edinburgh.

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