ORR Approves Limited Additional East Coast Main Line Services From 2025

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved additional open access rail services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) starting December 2025, benefiting operators East Coast Trains Limited (Lumo), Grand Central Rail Company Limited (Grand Central), and Hull Trains Company Limited (Hull Trains). These approvals include expanded direct links between London King’s Cross and Glasgow, Hull, Newcastle, and new calls at Seaham, alongside increased services between Wakefield Kirkgate and Bradford Interchange. Lumo will extend some Edinburgh services to Glasgow, marking the first open access operator serving Scotland's largest city, while Hull Trains gains one extra northbound service between London and Hull. However, ORR rejected several proposals due to capacity constraints, potential performance impacts, and financial considerations, notably denying Hull Trains’ application for new London King’s Cross to Sheffield services. The regulator emphasized balancing increased connectivity with maintaining overall network performance and funding availability. ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, Stephanie Tobyn, highlighted that these decisions promote rail use and competition while accommodating major service uplifts by other operators on the line.