The Office of Rail and Road has approved an application from a new train firm, which will compete directly with Great Western Railway on the main line between London and south Wales via Bristol Parkway. The company, called Grand Union Trains, hopes to launch its rival service at the end of 2024, operating on the Great Western Main Line, the main route that connects London Paddington to the south west and south Wales.
The new service will see passengers travelling between London, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff, Gowerton, Llanelli and Carmarthen benefiting from an extra five daily return services, with up to 20 minutes cut from journey times between Cardiff and London. Although it had initially planned to use 30-year-old rolling stock, Grand Union has committed to "significant investment" in its new trains.
Wales Online reported that Grand Union Trains put in its bid to the ORR requesting permission to introduce new rail services in June 2022 but was immediately met with frustration from Network Rail, which expressed apprehensions about the "capacity" of the network. Following Network Rail's concerns, the ORR says it "analysed" the situation - and has since advised Network Rail to "enter into a contract" with Grand Union.
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The approval grants Grand Union access rights for ten years, half the period that was requested. The application includes a commitment to build a new parkway station at Felindre, north of Swansea, which the company says will reduce journey times from Carmarthen and Llanelli to Cardiff and onto London by around 20 minutes.
Services will be operated by new bi-mode trains, which can serve as electric or diesel. Grand Union says one of the main characteristics of the new service will be its "high-quality design", including "improved on-board comfort (bigger seats, more legroom and increased luggage space) as well as a buffet car available on every service, aiming to offer our users the best experience in the market."
As it is an "open access train operator," Grand Union will not get paid subsidies from public funds, unlike other operators on the route. The service is proposing to partner with Renfe, the leading railway operator in Spain, to operate the services, with financial backing from Spanish private equity firm Serena Industrial Partners.
Ian Yeowart, Grand Union’s managing director, said: “It is great news for passengers who may have the opportunity to use our services, and one only has to look at what happens now on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), where there are three competing operators, to see the significant benefits that arise when operators face some competition. We are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by the ORR in determining these applications, and previous ORR decisions have significantly benefited many users on the ECML. We expect to be able to bring those benefits to the Great Western Main Line”.
He continued: “The very significant support we have received from the Welsh Government and all areas of South and West Wales has been very important in promoting the value of the service, and we are grateful for the cross-party support we have had from members of the Senedd and Westminster and from a number of local authorities”.
A spokesperson for the ORR said: "ORR supports new open access where it delivers competition for the benefit of passengers. In making this decision, the regulator has weighed this up against the impact on Government funds and the effect on other users of the railway, both passengers and freight customers.
Director of strategy, policy and reform at ORR, Stephanie Tobyn, added: "This decision supports more choice for passengers, new direct journey opportunities, more price competition, and new comfortable trains. The added competition should also make a significant contribution to innovation in terms of the routes served, ticketing practices and service quality improvements, by both Grand Union and through the response of existing operators."
The application received support from the Welsh government and Transport for Wales, which said it was keen to work with Grand Union to reduce any impacts on its operations. Meanwhile, CrossCountry also supported the proposal, and MTR Elizabeth Line had no significant objections. Freightliner had some concerns concerning performance and capacity, and Great Western Railway strongly opposed the application on economic, operations and market-need grounds.
A spokesperson for Great Western Railway said: “GWR has always had a very competitive and compelling offer for rail customers between South Wales and London and on our other routes. We also recognise that any additional rail services have the potential to bring choice and benefits for customers, and we look forward to welcoming Grand Union to the network in a couple of years’ time.”
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