
Rail operator London Northwestern Railway has announced plans to offer new routes from Manchester to London Euston to rival Avanti West Coast and future HS2 services.
Proposals look to take advantage of the operator’s existing use of platform space at London Euston, and will see services that currently terminate at Crewe extended to Manchester Victoria. London Northwestern Railway also plans to extend its services from Stafford to Crewe to Manchester Airport.
As well as bringing additional capacity to Manchester, the plans will create new direct links to towns in the West Midlands, Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth (which offers onward connections to the East Midlands and Birmingham) and Atherstone, to the city-region and additional capacity to Warrington from summer 2026 if approved by the Department for Transport. Each 10-car electric train set to be used on the route will be able to carry more than 1,200 passengers.
London Northwestern Railway’s plans follow proposals by open access operators (which receive no government subsidies), Lumo and Virgin Trains, to run trains on the West Coast Mainline.
Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, operator of London Northwestern Railway, said:
“This proposal puts passengers at the heart of the railway and is the common sense solution to increase connectivity between the North West and the West Midlands following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2.
“With platform space at Euston at a premium, the best way to provide new journey opportunities to Manchester is simply to extend existing services, rather than trying to squeeze more trains onto the congested West Coast Main Line.
“Additionally, unlike the Open Access model, the millions of pounds of extra revenue our proposals would generate will be returned to the taxpayer, providing a win-win for rail passengers.
“Just as we have shown with our existing long-distance services to Birmingham and Liverpool, our green and environmentally-friendly new electric trains will provide an affordable alternative to the car and coach, with fares up to 50% cheaper than the main intercity operator.”
Dominic Booth, chief executive officer of WMT’s parent company, Transport UK Group, said:
“Our new service proposals represent a significant step forward in enhancing the rail network between Manchester and London.
“By leveraging the new Class 730 electric trains, we will provide greater capacity and comfort for customers travelling to Manchester while also supporting the local economy by creating new job opportunities in the North West. This proposal aligns with our commitment to delivering efficient, sustainable, and customer-focused rail services across the UK.”
London Northwestern Railway will formally submit its plans to the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) later this year. If approved, the new services could commence from May 2026 once additional train crew have been recruited and trained.