Grand Union Trains bought by First Group?

[Tazi Hupefi]

One would assume they'd buy the bits they think are most profitable and leave the rest!

I think one of the Open Access proposals involves spending £millions on designing and constructing a brand new railway station in South Wales - given current costs for this, I'm not surprised First Group have decided not to take that one on!

 

[800001]

Article here from Rail Magazine (so Carmarthen remains with Ian Yeowart, FG take ownership of the Stirling plans).

First acquires Stirling-London Grand Union open access operation

FirstGroup has taken over Ian Yeowart’s Stirling-London open access operation, which holds five-year track access rights and is proposed to start in June 2025.

www.railmagazine.com

Text from article:-

FirstGroup has taken over Ian Yeowart’s Stirling-London open access operation, which holds five-year track access rights and is proposed to start in June 2025.
Having acquired Grand Union Trains WCML Holdings Ltd and its Grand Union Trains Ltd operating subsidiary from Yeowart, the deal gives FirstGroup ownership of the open access rights granted on March 7 by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The companies, newly renamed First Rail Stirling Holdings Ltd and First Rail Stirling Ltd, are now led by First Rail MD Steve Montgomery. The previous directors have resigned.
Financial terms of the deal, which concluded on August 9, have not been disclosed.
The ORR track access rights from June 2025 to June 2030 are for four daily return services between Euston and Stirling, calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert, with an additional positioning service each day, each way, between Euston and Preston.
Yeowart continues to head the separate Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings Ltd, which was granted open access rights between London Paddington and Carmarthen in December 2022, authorised to start from December 2024.
FirstGroup confirms that is not involved in Yeowart’s proposed Carmarthen operation, which is totally separate from the Stirling acquisition, Yeowart having de-merged it last summer.

 

[Snow1964]

First Group press release, purchase of Grand Union completed

Also says applied for new Paignton-London open access

THU, DEC 05, 2024 08:00 CET
FIRSTGROUP PLC

OPEN ACCESS RAIL ACQUISITION AND NEW SERVICES APPLICATION

FirstGroup plc (the ‘Group’) is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings Limited which holds track access rights for a new open access rail service between Carmarthen and London Paddington. The Group has also today submitted an application to the Office of Rail and Road (‘ORR’) to expand this service with additional paths to Paignton, Devon.

• The new service between London Paddington and Carmarthen is anticipated to be introduced in December 2027 and run to at least the end of 2037
• Customers will benefit from a new, value-for-money offering on the South Wales route and additional capacity on the line
• Following mobilisation in 2027, the Group expects the service to contribute annual revenues of c.£50m after two years, with a low double digit operating margin
• A further open access application has been submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (‘ORR’) for this service to incorporate an additional five return trips per day between London Paddington and Paignton

Carmarthen – London Paddington open access rail service

The Group’s acquisition of Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings Limited includes its subsidiary Grand Union Trains No. 2 Limited which holds track access rights already granted by the ORR to run open access rail services between London Paddington and Carmarthen from December 2027, for a period of ten years.

The new service will comprise five services a day between London Paddington and Carmarthen, calling at intermediate stations in England and Wales including Bristol Parkway, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Cardiff Central, Gowerton and Llanelli. Passengers can look forward to low fares on the c.400m annual seat miles, with free Wi-Fi and on-board catering, all offered in one comfortable class of travel. The service will not only create more customer choice and much-needed additional capacity on the route but it will also provide the first direct service to London from Severn Tunnel Junction and Gowerton, and a vastly improved connection from Llanelli.

It will be operated under the Group’s successful Lumo brand which, since its launch in October 2021, has transformed long-distance connectivity between London and Edinburgh and helped spur an overall shift from air to rail travel on that route. From launch until the end of current track access agreements, Lumo and Hull Trains are on track to deliver up to £1.4bn in economic benefits for communities along their routes[1] and the Group believes the new services will have a similarly positive effect for areas in South Wales which are undergoing regeneration.

Following mobilisation in 2027, the Group expects the service to contribute annual revenues of c.£50m after two years, with a low double digit operating margin, pre IFRS 16. The new service is expected to create around 100 direct jobs.

The Group is currently considering rolling stock options and further updates will be provided in due course.

Together with the Group’s recently announced acquisition of the track access rights granted by the ORR to run a new open access rail service from London Euston to Stirling, this will more than double FirstGroup’s open access capacity in the next few years. Furthermore, should the Group’s recently submitted applications be approved by the ORR this would almost treble the Group’s open access capacity over time.

Paignton – London open access expansion

The Group has also submitted an application to the ORR for track access rights to expand the new operation to include five return Lumo services between London Paddington and Paignton via stations including Bath Spa, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St David’s and Torquay from May 2028, as well as a sixth path between Highbridge & Burnham and London.

Currently the Torbay area only has three direct rail services to London a day, and rail only has a 29% modal share on this route compared to 71% for road. This is despite a car journey from Paignton to London taking between four and five hours on average; the Group’s planned London–Paignton service will take around 3 hours 20 minutes. Similarly, Bath and Bristol tourist rail journeys to Torbay have a lower modal share than comparable routes. This service should therefore accelerate tourism, drive growth and support jobs as the Torbay area’s tourism sector recovers from lower demand during the pandemic and the resurgence in overseas travel.

By boosting rail connectivity and gaining mode share from car, Lumo will help bring the South West closer together, and also provide additional options for passengers to connect with the capital.

Open access rail acquisition and new services application

FIRSTGROUP PLC open access rail acquisition and new services application FirstGroup

news.cision.com

 

[JonathanH]

That Lumo operation to Paignton appears to be heavily extractive and not really add much to the railway. Unless there is something it can do with batteries, it would seem to threaten Lumo's green credentials that are part of the Edinburgh operation.

 

[John R]

So the previous idea of a higher passenger quality of service on the South Wales line is transformed into the Ryanair style Lumo offering.

So another three years to introduce it too? What rolling stock could that involve? It feels a bit too soon to procure new bi-mode stock, unless the combination of all FG’s various open access needs tempts Hitachi to offer a sensible deal (which by all accounts it hasn’t appear interested in recently).

 

[Parallel]

That Lumo operation to Paignton appears to be heavily extractive and not really add much to the railway. Unless there is something it can do with batteries, it would seem to threaten Lumo's green credentials that are part of the Edinburgh operation.

Unlikely to abstract from road to/from Devon either that much if it goes via Bristol. Just comes across as Group trying to get their hands on as much of GWR’s revenue as they can post nationalisation.

 

[YorkRailFan]

The Paignton service is definitely First preparing for GWR being taken on by GBR In the near future. GWR has been operated by First for some decades and its clear that they don't want to give up this revenue.

 

[JonathanH]

Just comes across as Group trying to get their hands on as much of GWR’s revenue as they can post nationalisation.

Yes, and potentially preventing the nationalised railway from optimising the service it can provide between Bristol and Exeter.

 

[HST43257]

it would seem to threaten Lumo's green credentials that are part of the Edinburgh operation.

I guess this also applies to Carmarthen. Didn’t bimodes get scrapped from that plan? Will be interesting to see what occurs there

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

First Group press release, purchase of Grand Union completed
Also says applied for new Paignton-London open access

But it also says it now includes the Carmarthen service, previously not part of the planned FG acquisition.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I guess this also applies to Carmarthen. Didn’t bimodes get scrapped from that plan? Will be interesting to see what occurs there

Probably battery trains, like what they have already said they'll use if Euston - Rochdale is approved.

 

[John R]

Probably battery trains, like what they have already said they'll use if Euston - Rochdale is approved.

That might be possible if they have a recharge facility at Carmarthen, similar to the fast charge one on trial at Ealing.

And look which company has been working with the DfT on that trial.

 

[popeter45]

Massive loss to totally bait and switch from a quality service to ouigo

 

[800001]

So the previous idea of a higher passenger quality of service on the South Wales line is transformed into the Ryanair style Lumo offering.

So another three years to introduce it too? What rolling stock could that involve? It feels a bit too soon to procure new bi-mode stock, unless the combination of all FG’s various open access needs tempts Hitachi to offer a sensible deal (which by all accounts it hasn’t appear interested in recently).

I’d rather travel on a Lumo train than have to sit on a GWR IET seat!

 

[John R]

I’d rather travel on a Lumo train than have to sit on a GWR IET seat!

That’s not what Grand Union was offering though when it applied for its track access agreement. It was offering a higher quality passenger experience than GWR.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That’s not what Grand Union was offering though when it applied for its track access agreement. It was offering a higher quality passenger experience than GWR.

It was. Though when applying for paths do you have to lock in what sort of service you will operate? I doubt it.

 

[800001]

That’s not what Grand Union was offering though when it applied for its track access agreement. It was offering a higher quality passenger experience than GWR.

For some people they will believe Lumo is higher quality than GWR!
Comfier seat, a bit of colour rather than plane grey/green, reading light at each seat.
Trolley which will operate as the staff will always be on the train.

 

[John R]

It was. Though when applying for paths do you have to lock in what sort of service you will operate? I doubt it.

Agree, and I think that’s a problem with the current track access application process, as it’s too easy to completely change the passenger proposition retrospectively, whereas it should be an integral part of the consideration as to whether an application is agreed.

 

[Towers]

Yes, and potentially preventing the nationalised railway from optimising the service it can provide…

This is, of course, what the future of the rail network looks like unless GBR gets a grip on keeping Open Access in check. It’s entirely inevitable that private operators will look for all and every viable OA business case over profitable routes, leaving the state network with the bits that aren’t commercially desirable. Any halfway functioning system needs the revenue income from the bits which earn money to help pay for the subsidy of the bits which don’t, and if that income is susbtantially diminished by private competition there is going to be a problem. This seems pretty basic stuff to me, I’m rather surprised that GBR don’t seem to have a way through it.

 

[ainsworth74]

So the previous idea of a higher passenger quality of service on the South Wales line is transformed into the Ryanair style Lumo offering.

Though by all accounts that style of service is very popular if their East Coast services are anything to go by...

For some people they will believe Lumo is higher quality than Lumo!

Is there some sort of causality loop occuring here? Lumo is higher quality than Lumo which is higher quality than Lumo?

 

[800001]

Though by all accounts that style of service is very popular if their East Coast services are anything to go by...

Is there some sort of causality loop occuring here? Lumo is higher quality than Lumo which is higher quality than Lumo?

Corrected

 

[irish_rail]

Yes, and potentially preventing the nationalised railway from optimising the service it can provide between Bristol and Exeter.

Trouble is GWR show no interest in serving this important route with intercity services. We used to have several fast trains a day between Plymouth and London via Bristol, but when IETs came in this was whittled right back. Admittedly Plymouth with connections for Cornwall would make a hundred times more sense than Paignton (pretty much no one uses the GWR London trains from there anyway as it is). This will provide a useful alternative to XC sardine expresses.

 

[CapitalStar378]

First Group press release, purchase of Grand Union completed

Also says applied for new Paignton-London open access

Open access rail acquisition and new services application

FIRSTGROUP PLC open access rail acquisition and new services application FirstGroup

news.cision.com

This is an utter disaster and so very disappointing. So we'll have GWR/GBR class 800 IETs with no buffet and shoddy interiors or Lumo class 8XX IETs with no buffet and a pared down offering. This should be looked at again by the ORR as it's nothing like service that Grand Union had planned to offer.

This is not the age of the train for south Wales & the west.

 

[Mainliner]

Though by all accounts that style of service is very popular if their East Coast services are anything to go by...

Indeed - I use Lumo regularly to both Edinburgh and London, very convenient from my local station Morpeth, better seats, non-stop Newcastle-London, and attractive advance fares.

The only thing they could do better is do the refreshments run before checking the tickets - it’s not as if anyone can get off the non-stop trains without having their tickets checked. They are losing out on revenue from me and no doubt others, as on busy services (i.e. most of the time) it can be an hour or two before the trolley arrives, so I just buy my own before boarding.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This is an utter disaster and so very disappointing. So we'll have GWR/GBR class 800 IETs with no buffet and shoddy interiors or Lumo class 8XX IETs with no buffet and a pared down offering. This should be looked at again by the ORR as it's nothing like service that Grand Union had planned to offer.

This is not the age of the train for south Wales & the west.

Oh, but it is. The biggest complaint by far about the railway is that it is too expensive. Lumo is not too expensive, its fares are generally reasonable. The only real problem with it is the luggage policy, though with "bucket and spades" being popular down that way it'll be interesting to see if they choose different stock which might mean they can for instance offer bookable larger bags for those needing them for a fee (fitting the low cost model). The secondary problem is 5-car trains wasting paths, but will they go longer this time?

The difference with the ECML is that while we all know the truth LNER is perceived as a premium operation - I'm not sure GWR has the same image.

However I do think this will work for them.

 

[CapitalStar378]

Oh, but it is. The biggest complaint by far about the railway is that it is too expensive. Lumo is not too expensive, its fares are generally reasonable. The only real problem with it is the luggage policy, though with "bucket and spades" being popular down that way it'll be interesting to see if they choose different stock which might mean they can for instance offer bookable larger bags for those needing them for a fee (fitting the low cost model). The secondary problem is 5-car trains wasting paths, but will they go longer this time?

The difference with the ECML is that while we all know the truth LNER is perceived as a premium operation - I'm not sure GWR has the same image.

However I do think this will work for them.

That's subjective, if you're looking for a quality offering there won't be any. I like comfort as well as a decent price. Not having a buffet/shop has degraded the service in my eyes.

 

[43074]

The difference with the ECML is that while we all know the truth LNER is perceived as a premium operation - I'm not sure GWR has the same image.

GWR tries to have the same image but I'm not sure there is much to choose between the level of service Lumo provide and GWR's standard class offering. Comfort wise there will be nothing in it and catering is just from a trolley (albeit you have to pre order on Lumo, but it doesn't seem to generate too many complaints).

If you want quality there's GWR's Pullman services but they are going for a different market entirely than Lumo and arguably better than anything LNER provide.

 

[Bletchleyite]

GWR tries to have the same image but I'm not sure there is much to choose between the level of service Lumo provide and GWR's standard class offering. Comfort wise there will be nothing in it and catering is just from a trolley (albeit you have to pre order on Lumo, but it doesn't seem to generate too many complaints).

You absolutely don't have to pre-order on Lumo. A wider range is available if you do, but the basics are bought from the trolley just like GWR - the difference is that the trolley will basically always be there on Lumo because they won't operate without at least one steward.

Aside from the luggage policy (which I still think they are missing out on money by not doing better i.e. allowing a limited number of bookable bigger and/or additional bags for a fee) there are many things about Lumo standard class that are better than GWR standard class. Better seats, better trolley availability, nicer lighting level are three. Also because Lumo only plan single unit operation you won't get a short form and be forced to stand.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

This is, of course, what the future of the rail network looks like unless GBR gets a grip on keeping Open Access in check. It’s entirely inevitable that private operators will look for all and every viable OA business case over profitable routes, leaving the state network with the bits that aren’t commercially desirable. Any halfway functioning system needs the revenue income from the bits which earn money to help pay for the subsidy of the bits which don’t, and if that income is susbtantially diminished by private competition there is going to be a problem. This seems pretty basic stuff to me, I’m rather surprised that GBR don’t seem to have a way through it.

DfF/GBR is not the arbiter of open access, that's ORR's job. We'll have to see if that changes in the GBR legislation.

 

[800001]

Oh, but it is. The biggest complaint by far about the railway is that it is too expensive. Lumo is not too expensive, its fares are generally reasonable. The only real problem with it is the luggage policy, though with "bucket and spades" being popular down that way it'll be interesting to see if they choose different stock which might mean they can for instance offer bookable larger bags for those needing them for a fee (fitting the low cost model). The secondary problem is 5-car trains wasting paths, but will they go longer this time?

The difference with the ECML is that while we all know the truth LNER is perceived as a premium operation - I'm not sure GWR has the same image.

However I do think this will work for them.

Maybe will go for 7 car sets based on the Avanti 807.