When it comes to public transport, convenience is king. No one can really be bothered with two stopovers, a bus and a 20 minute walk just to get from point A to point B, so it’s always good when a new direct route is added to our railways.
Today, the people of Stirling can breathe a sigh of relief, as they’ll no longer need to change in Glasgow or shell out for the Caledonian sleeper to get to London. Well, at least not from next summer onward.
Lumo, a low cost rail operator that works on an open-access contract, already offers a direct train between London and Edinburgh on the East Coast Mainline, but now it’s expanding westward. The Stirling to London service is only one of several routes Lumo has looked into adding to their roster, but it’s got the trains on the way and staff training prepared for this one to begin operation in mid-2026.
The trains will go from Stirling past Larbert, Greenfaulds, Whifflet, Motherwell, Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, Nuneaton, Milton Keynes Central, terminating in London Euston four times a day, or three on Sundays.
The government has begun nationalising railways, reincorporating all franchised train companies and bringing them back under public ownership. Whilst this might appear to threaten companies like Lumo, who run entirely independently, Labour have assured that ‘there will be a place for open access operators where the benefits are not outweighed by costs to taxpayers or impacts on network performance’.
Martijn Gilbert, the managing director of Lumo, has said that ‘today’s announcement underscores Lumo’s commitment to growing Scotland’s rail network.
‘Our new service between Stirling and London has the potential to unlock significant economic opportunities for communities along the route… We are focused on further expanding our services in Scotland to ensure even greater connectivity across the country and the whole UK.’
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