The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected two proposals to introduce new private open access train services on the west coast main line serving London Euston, citing concerns over congestion and the line’s limited operational resilience. The decision affects bids by Alstom and First Group, both of which sought to offer direct services on routes currently not served by Avanti West Coast, the existing operator on the line.

Avanti West Coast is set to be nationalised by next spring and incorporated into the new state-run operator Great British Railways. The rejected applications aimed to provide additional travel options ahead of that change. Alstom, a train manufacturer, had planned to launch Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway services connecting London with north Wales and rural areas north and west of Birmingham. First Group, which also operates Avanti West Coast, proposed running four daily return journeys between Euston and Rochdale, north of Manchester, using timetable gaps to offer more affordable fares, a strategy similar to that employed by its Lumo service on the east coast main line.

Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, acknowledged that new services can deliver benefits to passengers and communities but emphasized that the west coast main line is already under significant operational pressure. She noted that the line’s performance issues reflect its limited resilience and that introducing more trains would likely worsen reliability. The line serves key destinations including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow.

Open access operators run their services independently of government rail franchises, assuming financial risks and keeping profits from ticket sales. They have been seen as a successful model on the east coast main line, where operators such as First Group’s Lumo, Hull Trains, and Arriva’s Grand Central coexist with LNER, the nationalised primary operator.

Despite a major infrastructure upgrade less than two decades ago, the ORR concluded that the west coast main line lacks sufficient capacity to support additional open access services. First Group’s Lumo service between London Euston and Stirling, launched last summer, was noted as the most recent successful open access entry.

Both Alstom and First Group expressed disappointment at the decision. Alstom highlighted the significant effort and local backing their proposal had received over two and a half years of development. First Group also voiced regret, pointing out that it had adjusted its bid in response to earlier ORR feedback.

The ORR’s decision underscores ongoing challenges in balancing network capacity and service improvements on one of the UK’s busiest rail corridors.