Aberdeen-headquartered transport multinational FirstGroup has applied to run a new London to Sheffield rail service. The private sector transport operator has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open-access rail service between London and Sheffield to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). FirstGroup has said it plans to expand its open-access rail operations as part of its Hull Trains business. 

FirstGroup’s new proposals are to run a London – Sheffield service, via the East Coast Main Line. Initially, the service will comprise two return journeys a day from London King’s Cross, running non-stop to Retford, then calling at Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield. The company aims to provide a faster link between London and Sheffield than alternative services, presumably those provided by franchised operator East Midlands Railways, via the Midland Main Line to St Pancras.

The company already operates a successful existing service on a route between Hull and London. Open access stands outside the UK Government model of franchised operations, with the risk and reward lying with the operating company.

FirstGroup offers first trains since 1968

According to FirstGroup, almost three-quarters of journeys between London and Sheffield are currently made by car. A   further nine per cent of trips made by coach. They say a competitively priced new rail offering will help stimulate a shift in transport mode from road to rail. The new route would give Sheffield a first regular service from London King’s Cross since 1968. They say it will also give the town of Worksop in Nottinghamshire a first regular direct London train in decades. FirstGroup estimates there are 350,000 people in the Worksop and Woodhouse catchment areas, both on the eastern outskirts of Sheffield.

Research by FirstGroup says that there is a market for would-be rail users, who drive or take connecting services to nearby Doncaster, in order to catch faster services to London. The alternative is to ‘back-track’ via Sheffield. “We [have] submitted the first phase application for a new open access rail service between London and Sheffield, expanding on our award-winning open access Hull Trains business”, said a company statement from FirstGroup. “The new service will help to drive the modal shift from road to rail by offering customers a more sustainable travel alternative between the two cities.”

Wider market, economic and environmental benefits

The application has come as a surprise to the business community in Sheffield. Peter Kennan, Co-Chair Sheffield Chamber of Commerce South Yorkshire Transport Forum, was broadly in favour. However, he expressed some reservations. “To my knowledge, there have so far been no discussions with the Sheffield business community about the proposal”, he said. “The service will be very useful for those living in the centre and to the east side of Sheffield. Serving Woodhouse and Worksop is a really interesting initiative. Exactly what open access operation is about.”

FirstGroup is an experienced operator in the Open Access arena. “We want to leverage our extensive experience of running open access services and repeat the success of Hull Trains and Lumo through this new route that connects London and Sheffield”, said Graham Sutherland, their Chief Executive Officer. “We have seen the level of growth and opportunity that is possible with open access, as well as the positive effect it can have on the wider market, including economic and environmental benefits. The new service will help to drive the modal shift from road to rail by offering customers a more sustainable travel alternative between the two cities. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we build our application and our case for this new offering.”

The application has sparked new calls for the reinstatement of Sheffield Victoria, a long-lost mainline station that complimented the existing hub at Midland station. A modest station at the location of Victoria, in the city centre’s Wicker district, may form part of the Barrow Hill Route reopening, already on the UK government agenda.