At the moment, if you want to take a direct train between London and Glasgow, it’s Avanti West Coast or nothing. But now, budget rail company Lumo is preparing to provide another option.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has officially given the green light for Lumo to begin services between London King’s Cross and Glasgow Queen Street from the end of this year.
Lumo currently runs direct trains between Edinburgh and London, offering a cheaper alternative to Avanti’s services. If you book far enough in advance you can travel between the two cities for as little as £19.90.
According to Which?, Lumo’s services are comparable to those of low-cost airlines like easyJet and Ryanair as they have cheaper expensive tickets, limits on baggage, no first class and no buffet car.
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When the Lumo trains to Glasgow get up and running, it says that there will be two northbound services and one southbound service on weekdays, and one service in each direction on Sundays. We know that the journey will take longer than Avanti’s, but the final costs and schedule are yet to be confirmed. More new Lumo routes have recently been approved for Stirling, Newcastle and Hull.
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said: ‘Approving these additional open access services will increase connectivity on the East Coast Main Line.
‘Importantly, we have ensured the approval of these services can be accommodated alongside the major service uplifts by other operators, which have been planned into the December 2025 timetable, so together passengers and freight customers can benefit from more direct connections and greater choice from December.’
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