9th Oct 2026 06:38
(Alliance News) - Plans for new train services between London and Wrexham, Rochdale and Blackpool have been rejected by the UK Office of Rail & Road.
The proposal to add more trains on the West Coast Main Line would "likely increase delays and cancelled trains for passengers", the regulator said on Thursday.
It rejected Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway's application for four daily Wrexham to London Euston return services, as well as Lumo's proposal for up to four return services between Rochdale and Euston on weekdays and Saturdays, and three on Sundays.
Avanti West Coast's plans for additional services between Blackpool and Euston were also denied by the ORR. FirstGroup PLC owns 70% of Avanti, with Italian state-owned operator Trenitalia holding the remainder. FirstGroup fell 1.9% to 183.16 pence each in London on Thursday.
"Gaps in the current timetable need to provide important space for trains to recover when disruption occurs, minimising delays to passengers," the regulator said.
"ORR concluded that adding more services into these windows in the timetable for recovery would reduce that resilience, increasing the risk of disruption spreading to other services and affecting more passengers."
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR's director of strategy, policy and reform, said: "New services, destinations and greater choice can bring real benefits for passengers and communities.
"But the West Coast Main Line is already under significant pressure, with performance reflecting limited resilience on a heavily used part of the rail network.
"Our detailed analysis has shown that adding more trains to the current timetable would reduce the ability to recover when disruption occurs, increasing the risk of delays spreading and making reliability of the network worse for all passengers."
Labour MP for Wrexham Andrew Ranger said the ORR's decision to reject the proposed services from his constituency to London was "a huge disappointment".
The ORR said its assessment and decision came after similar applications were rejected in 2025.
By Rosie Shead, Press Association Transport Correspondent
source: PA
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