UK: FirstGroup has submitted the first phase of an application to launch an open access passenger service between Hereford, Bristol Parkway and London under its Lumo brand.
The company is proposing two return journeys between London Paddington and Hereford from Monday to Saturday, and one on Sundays, calling at Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Cwmbran, Pontypool & New Inn and Abergavenny.
The services would be operated using rolling stock which can be ordered as an option on its December 2024 order for 14 Hitachi Rail AT300 trainsets.
FirstGroup announced on June 6 that it had submitted a formal application to the Office of Rail & Road. A consultation period will now follow, as well as discussion with Network Rail to secure the required approvals. The service would operate in conjunction with the planned service from London to Carmarthen which is due to launch in December 2027, and it is anticipated it could begin at the same time.
FirstGroup said this would increase the number of daily through services between Hereford and London from four to six, mitigating current large gaps in the timetable with additional daytime and evening arrivals into London. It would also provide the city with new direct journey opportunities to Bristol Parkway.
It said the service would encourage modal shift by providing almost 200 000 people living in the Torfaen and Monmouthshire areas with a ‘convenient and competitively priced’ direct rail service to London without the need to change trains or drive to other stations.
‘We have extensive experience of running open access rail operations and we want to bring our successful Lumo service to this new route’, said FirstGroup CEO Graham Sutherland. ‘Open access operators deliver trains to under-served routes, offering passengers choice at competitive fares. Passenger surveys routinely report very high satisfaction levels, and open access operators are giving customers new travel options and driving demand, paying their own way without public funding. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we build our application and our case for this new service.’
