FirstGroup
is
to
lease
five
Class
222
Meridian
diesel
units
cascaded
from
East
Midlands
Railway
for
its
open
access
service
between
Stirling
and
London.
First
acquired
the
licence
for
the
route
from
Grand
Union
last
year.
The
trains,
branded
Lumo,
will
use
the
West
Coast
Main
Line,
departing
from
London
Euston
and
calling
at
Milton
Keynes
Central,
Nuneaton,
Crewe,
Preston,
Carlisle,
Lockerbie
and
Motherwell,
from
where
they
will
run
east
of
Glasgow
to
Stirling
via
Whifflet,
Greenfaulds
and
Larbert.
The
track
access
agreement
is
valid
until
2030
and
provides
for
four
daily
return
services,
although
there
will
be
three
on
Sundays.
A
further
return
service
will
run
between
London
and
Preston
seven
days
a
week.
The
222s
belong
to
Eversholt
Rail,
and
are
being
replaced
in
the
East
Midlands
by
bi-mode
Hitachi
Class
810
units.
First
said
it
expects
annual
revenues
to
be
about
£50
million,
with
a
‘low
double
digit
operating
profit
margin’.
It
is
also
looking
at
opportunities
to
extend
the
access
agreement
beyond
2030,
leasing
bi-mode
or
electric
trains.
First
is
applying
for
several
open
access
licences
as
the
former
franchises
are
being
successively
nationalised.
Following
a
change
in
the
law
last
November,
it
surrendered
South
Western
Railway
on
25
May,
while
its
TransPennine
Express
contract
had
already
been
terminated
in
May
2023.
The
Group
has
also
acquired
a
licence
for
services
between
London
Paddington
and
Carmarthen,
but
several
other
applications
are
currently
being
considered
by
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road,
although
the
Department
for
Transport
said
earlier
this
year
that
it
was
not
supporting
any
of
the
outstanding
bids,
with
the
possible
exception
of
Alstom’s
application
to
run
trains
between
London
and
Wrexham.
FirstGroup
chief
executive
Graham
Sutherland
said:
‘The
mobilisation
of
our
new
service
between
London
and
Stirling
is
another
important
step
towards
rolling
out
Lumo
as
a
nationwide
operator
and
growing
our
open
access
capacity,
a
key
priority
for
the
Group.
Our
investment
and
capabilities
in
open
access
rail
have
delivered
reliable,
value
for
money
services,
grown
rail
demand
and
helped
to
spur
economic
growth
and
connect
communities.
We
look
forward
to
doing
the
same
on
our
new
services.’
Readers’
comments
Will
the
ticket
price
for
this
service
include
an
extra
environmental
tax
for
choosing
to
travel
on
a
diesel
train
for
such
a
long
journey
on
an
electrified
route?
Peter
Evans,
Stroud
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