The next train from platform 3 is for... London. A train company wants to run six services a day from Rochdale to London

The last time a direct train left Rochdale for London, Billie Piper was at number one with Day and Night, Big Break was prime time BBC1 entertainment and Chelsea had just won the last FA Cup Final to be played at the old Wembley Stadium.

It was May 2000 when Rochdale lost its link with the capital, but one train operator, Lumo, has plans to run direct trains to London once again.

Lumo is what’s known as an open access operator. That means, unlike the contracted train operators such as Northern or Avanti West Coast, Lumo makes its money solely through ticket sales and doesn't receive financial support from the government. The company operates independently and can offer competition.

Passengers on the East Coast Main Line now have a choice of which train company to catch between Edinburgh and London - they can use the government-operated LNER or Lumo. Before Lumo’s sister company, Hull Trains, started in 2000 there was only one train a day each way between Hull and London. Now there are eight return services each weekday - an example of how open access operators can offer more choice and more trains.

Lumo has submitted plans to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for a new train service from Rochdale to London. If approved, brand new British-built trains could start running in 2027.

So what would it mean for Rochdale? The plan is for six return services a day calling at Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay. Lumo would use trains capable of running at 125mph on the main line, the same speed as the Manchester to London trains run by Avanti.

These environmentally-friendly electric trains would use power from the overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line but would run off batteries for sections of line which aren’t electrified, such as the bit between Manchester and Rochdale.

The stop at Eccles would provide useful connections via Metrolink to the city of Salford and Media City. The area around St. Helens would be served by the station at Newton-le-Willows. In fact, Lumo predicts that around 1.6 million people in the North West could benefit from this new service.

The hope is that this might entice people out of their cars and onto the trains. To do that, the trains would have to be reliable and offer value for money. Lumo would point to its Edinburgh to London route as evidence that this is possible. Since the company launched its high-speed blue trains in October 2021, all train operators on the East Coast route have seen passenger numbers increase. In a recent survey, Lumo achieved over 96% customer satisfaction.

 

 

If you ask people what puts them off train travel, many might say it’s the cost. Train fares can be expensive, although there are bargains to be had if you can book in advance but many find the fares structure too complicated. Lumo trains don’t have first class and standard class. There is a single class and the company claims it offers good value fares.

To put that to the test, freelance rail journalist Andy Comfort tried to book a ticket from Edinburgh to London for Monday 19 August. At the time of writing, a single ticket with no railcard would cost £73 on the 0626 LNER departure but just £38.90 on the Lumo train which leaves three minutes earlier at 0623. The cheapest LNER ticket is £48.50 on the 0540 from Edinburgh. The LNER app actually offered him the Lumo departure as the cheapest option for two adults and two children without a railcard.

It was a similar story when Andy looked to travel on Saturday 17 August. A single adult ticket without a railcard on the 0900 Edinburgh to London LNER train would cost £96.80 but the fare is £70.90 on the Lumo train which leaves four minutes earlier at 0856. The cheapest ticket on offer that day is for the 0536 Lumo train from Edinburgh, which was on sale for £51.90.

Lumo’s managing director, Martijn Gilbert, who also runs Hull Trains, said: “Our open access model focuses on giving good value fares and really good quality service and gives customers choice.”

The body which regulates the railways, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will now look at the proposal for the new direct train service. Then there will be a period of consultation and it’s hoped the first services would run in 2027. Already, Lumo, are talking to people in the Rochdale area about what they’d like from a new train service.

It’s likely that there’ll be changes made to the rail network with the new Labour government. Their plan is to bring train operators’ contracts under government control as they expire. In the North West, train operators such as Northern and TransPennine Express are already directly controlled by the Department for Transport.

Labour have said they want open access operators, such as Lumo, on the rail network. Their manifesto says “wherever there is a case that open access adds value and capacity to the network, they will be able to compete to improve the offer to passengers.”

So, subject to approval and consultation, we should once again see the words “London Euston” on the departures screens at Rochdale Station.