Arriva
says
it
has
submitted
a
new
open
access
application
to
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
to
run
direct
services
almost
the
length
of
England,
between
Newcastle,
Gatwick
Airport
and
Brighton.
The
application
is
the
latest
in
a
series
of
open
access
bids
which
have
been
lodged
since
last
July’s
election,
when
Labour
pledged
to
renationalise
all
the
remaining
operators
which
used
to
have
franchises
and
are
still
in
the
private
sector.
The
first
of
these
will
be
South
Western
Railway,
which
is
set
to
return
to
public
ownership
in
a
month
from
today.
Arriva,
which
already
owns
Grand
Central,
wants
to
run
direct
services
between
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
and
Brighton.
The
intermediate
calling
points
would
be
Durham,
Darlington,
Northallerton,
York,
Doncaster,
Sheffield,
Derby,
Burton-on-Trent,
Birmingham
New
Street,
Warwick
Parkway,
Banbury,
Oxford,
Reading,
Wokingham,
Guildford,
Redhill,
Gatwick
Airport
and
Haywards
Heath.
Arriva’s
application
will
also
be
notified
formally
to
Network
Rail
today.
Arriva
says
it
has
identified
spare
paths,
and
would
use
these
to
run
five
trains
a
day
in
each
direction.
The
service
would
be
part
of
Grand
Central,
and
could
be
introduced
from
December
2026.
Arriva
UK
Trains’
Rail
Services
managing
director
Paul
Hutchings
said:
‘We’re
committed
to
connecting
communities
and
enabling
more
people
to
travel
in
ways
that
are
convenient
and
sustainable,
so
we’re
very
pleased
to
be
submitting
this
application
for
the
first
direct
service
between
Newcastle
and
Brighton,
opening
up
new
travel
opportunities
and
making
better
use
of
available
network
capacity
–
all
while
building
on
Grand
Central’s
proud
history
of
connecting
traditionally
underserved
communities.
‘This
is
an
exciting
time
for
Grand
Central’s
growth
story
and
follows
the
extension
of
our
existing
access
rights
to
2038
as
well
as
the
recent
announcement
of
an
investment
of
around
£300
million
in
a
new
battery
hybrid
train
fleet
for
our
existing
routes,
further
underlining
our
commitment
and
ambition
for
rail
in
the
UK.’
London
Gatwick
Airport’s
chief
commercial
officer
Jonathan
Pollard
added:
‘We
welcome
Arriva’s
exploration
of
a
regular
service
between
London
Gatwick,
the
Midlands
and
North
East,
and
are
excited
about
the
opportunities
this
proposed
service
could
bring.
London
Gatwick
is
keen
to
encourage
passengers
to
use
public
transport
and
this
enhanced
connectivity
would
support
underserved
areas,
while
strengthening
and
growing
our
catchment.’
Arriva
is
already
in
the
ORR’s
queue
of
applications
for
more
open
access
services.
It
is
awaiting
decisions
on
proposals
for
two
extra
daily
return
services
between
Bradford
and
London
and
an
early
morning
and
late
evening
return
from
York
to
London,
as
well
as
the
introduction
of
a
direct
London
connection
to
Grimsby
and
Cleethorpes.
The
other
contenders
for
various
routes
are
Alstom,
FirstGroup
and
Virgin
Trains.
Although
the
government
is
willing
in
principle
to
allow
open
access
operators
to
continue,
it
has
also
sounded
notes
of
caution
about
introducing
more.
Transport
secretary
Heidi
Alexander
wrote
to
the
ORR
in
January,
saying:
‘I
am
…
aware
of
the
additional
pressures
new
services
can
create
on
already
constrained
network
capacity
and
their
impact
on
the
value
secured
from
public
investment
in
infrastructure.
While
Open
Access
operators
pay
variable
access
charges
to
Network
Rail
to
cover
the
direct
costs
incurred
running
their
trains
on
the
network,
unlike
government
contracted
operators
they
do
not
fully
cover
the
costs
of
fixed
track
access
charges.’
Soon
afterwards
the
Department
for
Transport
revealed
that
it
was
not
supporting
any
of
the
open
access
applications
which
had
been
lodged
at
that
time,
with
the
possible
exception
of
a
proposal
by
Alstom
to
revive
the
route
between
London
and
Wrexham.
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