A rail company dubbed the ‘Ryanair of trains’ has unveiled plans to expand its offerings across the UK.
Lumo, which is owned by FirstGroup plc, is looking to add new and extended rail services over the next few years – including launching a brand new route in December 2028.
FirstGroup has submitted applications to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and is currently waiting for response.
Should they be successful, Lumo would have approval for a new route that ‘joins up the entire Great British Railway Network’, as well as more train services running between an existing route and trains able to run for an extended period.
This comes hot off the heels of The ORR approving the extension of Lumo’s existing service, adding Glasgow Queen Street to the popular London to Edinburgh route.
Here’s a closer look at the proposed plans…
Cardiff to York
Lumo wants to launch a new route between Cardiff and York from December 2028, which would connect all four main lines from the Great Western Main Line to the East Coast Main Line.
The journey would call at Birmingham, Derby and Sheffield along the way and six return services would run each weekday. Currently there’s just one single weekly service.
The plan is to ‘replicate the success of the Edinburgh to London service’, which offers tickets from £50, bringing Lumo’s low-cost model to an ‘underserved corridor’.
Rochdale to London
A revised application has been submitted to run new direct services between Rochdale and London Euston, via Manchester Victoria from December 2028.
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The trains would call at Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay and the proposal is to have three new return services on weekdays and Sundays, plus four return services on Saturdays, which would provide 1.6 million people in the north-west a ‘convenient and competitively priced’ direct rail service to London.
The application has been revised to address the ORR’s concerns about network capacity, as FristGroup’s original application was rejected in July 2025.
Stirling to London
Lumo is scheduled to launch brand new services between Stirling and London Euston, but is keen to extend the current track access agreement it has for this beyond May 2030, when it ends.
Four return services weekdays and Saturdays, and three on Sundays, on the new route are expected to start early in the company’s 2027 financial year.
As well as all of this, Lumo is looking to purchase new trains.
Speaking about the applications, Graham Sutherland, the chief executive officer of FirstGroup said: ‘Our 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.
‘Our open access services connect previously under-served communities and unlock private investment, creating jobs and shifting travel towards more sustainable options.’
He added: ‘We look forward to working closely with stakeholders as we develop our applications.’
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