The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected applications from three companies seeking track access contracts with Network Rail to run services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
This includes a new application by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin, which was blocked from renewing its West Coast licence by the Conservative government in 2019. It had previously operated services on the line since the late 1990s.
The ORR concluded that there is insufficient capacity on the West Coast Main Line southern section for the introduction of any of the proposed services:
- From East Coast Trains Limited (Lumo NW);
- The Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway Company Limited (WSMR);
- Virgin Management Limited (Virgin).
To introduce any of these proposals would be detrimental to performance on the WCML and therefore all passengers and freight customers, it said.
The ORR said it determines all track access applications in accordance with its statutory duties. In the case of these three applications, lack of capacity and the anticipated impact on performance alone meant it could not approve them, it said.
“After thorough assessment of each application, it was clear that there was insufficient capacity to approve any of the services without a serious negative impact on the level of train performance that passengers experience on the West Coast Main Line,” said Stephanie Tobyn (ORR’s Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform).
“We recognise the potential advantages of competition on the West Coast Main Line, which is why we approved in 2024 the new London-Stirling services that First Group are due to start operating in 2026,” she said.
“However, it is clear that the southern end of the route requires space in the timetable to provide resilience. Additional services within the current timetable structure and planned capacity use would further weaken punctuality and reliability, not just at the south end of the WCML but elsewhere as well.”
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