The proposed Cardiff-York route would connect all four main lines from the\u00a0Great Western Main Line to the East Coast Main Line and call at Birmingham<\/a>, Derby and Sheffield<\/a>. Lumo wants return services between the cities to run six times a day every weekday. It hopes that this journey would \u2018replicate the success of the Edinburgh to London service\u2019 and bring budget train tickets to an \u2018underserved corridor\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the Rochdale-London route, it would run via\u00a0Manchester<\/a> Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay. The application proposes three return services on weekdays and Sundays and four services every Saturday. Lumo said this would provide residents of the north-west a \u2018convenient and competitively priced\u2019 direct rail service to London.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lumo\u2019s\u00a0Stirling-London rail service has already been approved and will start next year<\/a>.\u00a0It\u2019ll run four times a day, or three on Sundays and stop by\u00a0Larbert, Greenfaulds, Whifflet, Motherwell, Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central on its way. The latest application is to\u00a0extend the current track access agreement and ensure the service keeps running past May 2030, which is when the current contract ends.\u00a0<\/p>\n All of that is on top of Lumo\u2019s new\u00a0London King\u2019s Cross and\u00a0Glasgow Queen Street<\/a>\u00a0service, which was given the green light earlier this month<\/a> and is expected to start in December.\u00a0<\/p>\n Graham Sutherland, the\u00a0CEO of FirstGroup said: \u2018Our new services will allow us to bring the substantial benefits of open access to even more communities, at no additional cost to the taxpayer. Lumo also pays more towards infrastructure investment than other long-distance operators, delivering growth on the railway and connectivity to local communities, so the whole system gains.<\/p>\n \u2018Our open access services connect previously under-served communities and unlock private investment, creating jobs and shifting travel towards more sustainable options.\u2019<\/p>\n ICYMI:\u00a0One of the most famous architects in the world is building a new train station in England<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Lumo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.webp.webp\")
\nPhotograph: John Lazenby \/ Shutterstock.com
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