The UK rail regulator ORR has approved FirstGroup’s proposal to provide a rival budget rail service on the East Coast Mainline linking Edinburgh and London. The plan is to operate five trains a day in each direction. The service, which will come into operation in 2021, will offer low fares at half the average price of today.
“The new service is designed to provide more choice for passengers looking to travel between London, north-east England and Scotland, and will encourage travellers to switch from air or coach travel to rail. This is really going to be a step change for customers, ” FirstGroup said.
“Now that our application has been approved and we have been granted rights we will implement the next steps to deliver our proposals which include discussions with Network Rail and rolling stock manufacturers,” Russell Evans, FirstGroup’s rail policy and planning director, said.
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