The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has turned down three open access applications from Virgin, FirstGroup, and Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway (WSMR), citing a lack of capacity on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
The regulator said the southern section of the WCML is already running at full capacity, and introducing new non-franchised services would harm the reliability of the wider network.
WCML open access: Three bids, one answer
Virgin had planned to return to UK rail with a new service linking London to cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Rochdale. The company, which operated on the route until 2019, said the decision was “a blow for consumer choice and competition”.
FirstGroup’s Lumo brand had proposed a “Lumo North West” service from London to Rochdale. WSMR, backed by Alstom, had sought to revive a London–Wrexham connection. All three applications were rejected following an ORR capacity and performance assessment.
Performance risks too great
According to ORR, adding further services on the congested southern end of the WCML would significantly impact timetable resilience and increase delays.
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said:
“After thorough assessment of each application, it was clear that there was insufficient capacity to approve any of the services without a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience on the West Coast Main Line. 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 First Group 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.”
Open access facing limits
The outcome raises fresh questions about the future of open access rail services in the UK. Though often promoted as a way to boost competition and improve service, open access remains constrained on busy corridors like the WCML.
By contrast, the East Coast Main Line (ECML) has more available capacity and continues to support operators such as Hull Trains, Grand Central and Lumo. Five new open access bids for the ECML are still under review by ORR.
In 2024, FirstGroup was granted permission to operate a new open access route between London and Stirling.
The outcome is a particular setback for Virgin, which was hoping to re-enter the UK rail market after its exit in 2019. At its peak, Virgin Trains operated long-distance services between London and Glasgow and had become one of Britain’s most recognisable operators.
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