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

Perhaps the main failing of market economics is that things like environmental considerations don't have representation therein? If this were rectified with a series of charges and subsidies that give incentives in the marketplace to minimise "hidden costs" and maximise "hidden benefits", or to put another way, taking "externalities" into consideration, maybe these could be the domain of DfT, while the railmen/women can manage and lead their operation? One way of getting the "guiding hand"?                                                      

   David C. Smith, Bletchley, Milton Keynes

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