The rail regulator has turned down two more open access applications, on the grounds that there is not enough capacity on the West Coast Main Line. The ORR had been considering proposals for four return services between London and Wrexham from the Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company. It has also refused Lumo’s plans for up to four daily trains between London and Rochdale and an application from Avanti West Coast for more paths between London and Blackpool.

Another open access application has reached the end of the line, with the news that Grand Central has abandoned its proposal to run services from Cleethorpes, saying that the plan is ‘no longer commercially viable’. Sim Harris asks if the era of domestic open access is coming to a close.