Proposals have been announced for the new Manchester to London train service

London Northwestern Railway has announced proposals for a new train service linking Manchester and London Euston via the West Midlands.

Under the proposals, London Northwestern Railway would extend London Euston – Crewe services to Manchester Victoria and services between Stafford and Crewe would extend to Manchester Airport.

As well as a boost for Manchester passengers, the plans would create direct links from Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth and Atherstone to the city and Warrington.

Services between Manchester Victoria and London Euston would use the operator’s Class 730 electric trains, with each 10-car train capable of carrying more than 1,200 passengers.

The LNWR would work with other operators and Network Rail to find the best solution to partner with the upgrades at Manchester Victoria and of course the TransPennine Route Upgrade.

If approved, the new services could begin from May 2026 once crew training is complete.

“This proposal puts passengers at the heart of the railway and is the common sense solution to increase connectivity between the North West and West Midlands following the cancellation of the northern section of HS2.

“With platform space at Euston at a premium, the best way to provide new travel opportunities to Manchester is simply to extend existing services rather than trying to squeeze more trains onto the busy West Coast Main Line .

“Furthermore, unlike the Open Access model, the millions of pounds of extra revenue our proposals would generate would be returned to the taxpayer, providing a benefit for rail passengers.

“As we have shown with our existing long-distance services to Birmingham and Liverpool, our new eco-friendly electric trains will provide an affordable alternative to car and coach, with fares up to 50% cheaper than the main intercity operator. .

Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, operator of the London Northwestern Railway