UK: The Office of Rail & Road has rejected applications from three companies seeking track access contracts to run open access services on the West Coast Main Line.
On July 3 the regulator said there was insufficient capacity on the southern section of the route, and ‘to introduce any of these proposals would be detrimental to performance on the WCML and therefore all passengers and freight customers’.
Applications had been submitted by FirstGroup’ Lumo brand, former WCML franchisee Virgin which is seeking to return to the rail market, and the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway joint venture of Alstom and SLC Rail.
| Applicants’ proposed services | |
|---|---|
| Virgin Trains | VT1: London Euston – Manchester Victoria – Preston, five trains/day. London Euston – Manchester Victoria – Rochdale, two trains/day VT2: London Euston – Liverpool Lime Street (nine trains/day) VT3: London Euston – Birmingham New Street (four trains/day) Each service group could operate independently, and Virgin asked for each to be assessed as a standalone proposal |
| Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway | London Euston – Wrexham (five trains/day, four on Sundays) |
| Lumo NW | London Euston – Rochdale (six trains/day, five on Sundays) |
ORR said is supportive in principle of open access, and its assessment looked at operational viability, the benefits generated and the ‘often-supportive’ views of passengers and local stakeholders. However, its ‘fundamental conclusion’ was that there is insufficient capacity on the network and so the services would be detrimental to performance.
The applications were not supported by Network Rail because of its concerns about capacity.
The Department for Transport opposed the Virgin and Lumo applications as it believed they would abstract revenue from contracted operators, but it supported WSMR’s proposal as it believed this would pass the abstraction test. In June DfT wrote to ORR saying open access operators could have a cumulative impact on overall industry finances.
Announcing its decision, ORR stressed that it determines applications in accordance with its statutory duties. It said ‘lack of capacity and the anticipated impact on performance alone’ meant it could not approve the applications, and so its duty to have regard to the funds available to the Secretary of State was ‘not relevant’ to the decision.
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s Director of Strategy, Policy & Reform, said ‘we recognise the potential advantages of competition on the West Coast Main Line, which is why we approved in 2024 the new London – Stirling services that FirstGroup are due to start operating in 2026. However, it is clear that the southern end of the route requires space in the timetable to provide resilience. Additional services within the current timetable structure and planned capacity use would further weaken punctuality and reliability, not just at the south end of the WCML but elsewhere as well.’
Responses to the decisions
Responding to the announcement, DfT said ‘we are supportive of open access services where they encourage growth, improve connectivity and provide more choice for passengers, which is why we endorsed WSMR’s unsuccessful application’. The department added that open access ‘can divert significant sums of money away from contracted operators, diverting revenue and leaving taxpayers to fill shortfalls. We have been clear that we will only support new open access applications where benefits clearly outweigh such impacts.’
WSMR said it was ‘extremely disappointed’ with the decision to reject ‘the only current application to receive support’ from DfT. It said it had received ‘overwhelming support from local people, businesses, councillors and MPs’, and spent two years ‘demonstrating that capacity and performance concerns can and would be negated by the industry working together to deliver a better railway for passengers’.
It is now seeking to re-engage with the ORR to ‘determine our next steps regarding the future of this vital passenger service’.
FirstGroup said it would ‘continue to explore further potential opportunities’ for the London – Rochdale route, which it believes would pass the abstraction test . The company said ‘the independent regulator has an important role to play in balancing additional new open access services for passengers with other users of the network and it is important they are able to complete their work without interference’.
A Virgin Group spokesperson said the decision was ‘a blow for consumer choice and competition’, and its proposed services ‘would have delivered excellent value for customers and taxpayers alike by adding five million additional seats every year from a trusted brand with a track record for delivering award-winning, reliable train services’.
It said ‘given the opportunity, Virgin’s open access routes could play a valuable role in delivering the high-quality train services the British public deserve and GBR wants to encourage’, but it will now focus on its plans to launch services through the Channel Tunnel.
