The new train service between Manchester and London could be in operation by 2026

Plans for new train services between London and Manchester have been revealed following the cancellation of the northern section of HS2. Operator London Northwestern Railway is seeking permission to extend its existing services – which run between the capital and Crewe – to Manchester Victoria via the West Midlands.

It is looking to use the same track space on the West Coast Main Line for which Virgin Trains and Lumo have announced open access bids. A decision on which services can be launched will be made by the Department for Transport and the regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

If London Northwestern Railway’s proposal gets the go-ahead, new direct links from Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth and Atherstone in the West Midlands to central Manchester and Warrington will be introduced from summer 2026 using Class 730 electric trains.

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Last October, on the final day of the Tory party conference in Manchester, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak scrapped plans to extend the HS2 high-speed link between the West Midlands and Manchester amid rising costs. The decision was strongly criticized by the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.

Ian McConnell, managing director of London Northwestern Railway, owner of West Midlands Trains, said: “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 leg 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. .”

Most train operators in England – including London Northwestern Railway – receive an administration charge, with the UK government responsible for costs and revenue.

Open access operators receive no taxpayer-funded subsidies and bear all revenue risks. There are concerns that these services are putting extra pressure on the rail network and taking too much revenue from conventional operators.

Dominic Booth, chief executive of West Midlands Trains’ parent company, Transport UK Group, said: “Our new service proposals are a significant step forward in improving the rail network between Manchester and London.

“By leveraging the new Class 730 electric trains, we will provide more capacity and comfort for customers traveling to Manchester, while supporting the local economy by creating new job opportunities in the North West. This proposal aligns with our commitment to deliver efficient, sustainable and customer-focused rail services in the UK.”

London Northwestern Railway is also proposing to start running trains to Manchester Airport by extending its existing service between Stafford and Crewe. It plans to formally unveil its ORR plans later this year.

In March this year, a review commissioned by Andy Burnham concluded that a new train line that would cost less than HS2 was the “best solution” to improve train services between Manchester and Birmingham. The analysis by a group of private sector companies considered three options.

Among them was a new line between Handsacre Junction in Staffordshire, where the first phase of HS2 will end, and High Legh in Cheshire, where another new line is to be built from Manchester to Liverpool. Speaking at a Transport for the North (TfN) board meeting in Leeds today (March 20), Mr Burnham revealed the findings of the review, saying this new line was “the best solution”.

It came after the Greater Manchester mayor joined his then West Midlands counterpart, Andy Street, from Birmingham, to discuss how rail connectivity between the two city-regions could be improved following the government’s decision to scrap last year on the northern side of HS2. After the meeting, mayors told the media that the new train line would cost “considerably less” than HS2 would.

Mr Burnham told the TfN board meeting that this new line would be mostly above ground, meaning “not a lot” of tunneling would be needed, making it cheaper to build. He also told the board that any new line would have to go through Crewe, where HS2 trains were due to stop.

However, he insisted the proposal was not an attempt to revive HS2. He said: “This is the son or daughter of HS2. It’s not the same thing”.