New train services between London and Scotland were given the green light on Thursday by the rail regulator.
The Office of Rail and Road approved a bid from a start-up firm, Grand Union Trains, to run four return services a day between Euston and Stirling, starting in June 2025.
It says all passengers have a right to expect a seat, which will be part of the price for all journeys longer than 30 minutes.
Passengers who cannot find a seat will be given a 50 per cent discount.
The trains will run on the West Coast Main Line, calling at stations including Milton Keynes, Crewe and Preston and thereby offering an alternative to Avanti West Coast, which continues to struggle with reliability and cancellations.
LNER already runs high-speed services on the East Coast Main Line between King’s Cross and Stirling via Edinburgh.
It will be the fourth passenger rail connection between London and Scotland – the other is the Caledonian Sleeper.
Grand Union Trains is an “open access operator”, meaning it will not receive Government subsidies and will be reliant on ticket sales to make a profit.
It will reportedly use refurbished 125mph trains no longer in use by Avanti, which has been upgrading its train fleet.
It says that in addition to advance tickets, passengers will also be able to buy tickets on the train at a “fair price”. This will include the use of railcards for on-train ticket purchase.
Grand Union has promised free wifi for all passengers and more space and leg-room for passengers than other train providers, with good space for luggage.
Grand Union has already been given permission to run a new service between Paddington and Carmarthen in Wales. This is due to start later this year.
The ORR said its decision on the Euston to Stirling service would offer more choice to passengers, bring private sector investment to the railway and increase competition. It would also make use of spare capacity on the West Coast Main Line.
The trains will also call at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.
Larbert, Greenfaulds and Whifflet will receive their first direct services to London. The route avoids “congested” access to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
Open access operators already operate on the East Coast Main Line – including Lumo, which runs between King’s Cross and Edinburgh, Hull Trains, which runs between Hull and King’s Cross and Grand Central, which has trains linking Bradford or Sunderland and King’s Cross.
Stephanie Tobyn, director of strategy, policy and reform at the ORR, said: “Our decision helps increase services for passengers and boost competition on Britain’s railway network.
“By providing more trains serving new destinations, open access operators offer passengers more choice in the origin and price of their journey leading to better outcomes for rail users.”
