The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected plans to introduce direct train services between London and both Wrexham and Rochdale, citing capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line. The regulator stated that the busy railway lacks the necessary capacity to accommodate the proposed routes without risking increased delays and decreased reliability.
The decision also affected plans for additional London-Blackpool services, as the ORR emphasized the importance of maintaining timetable gaps to allow trains to recover from disruptions and prevent delays from affecting the broader network. This follows previous rejections of similar proposals for direct services to Wrexham and Rochdale.
If approved, the Wrexham service would have established a new direct connection between the Welsh town and the UK capital, while the planned Lumo service aimed to link Rochdale with London. Despite these rejections, the ORR did approve a new evening service between London and Chester. This service, operated by Avanti, will allow a train to carry passengers on its return journey to a depot, rather than traveling empty.
The ORR’s assessment concluded that the capacity and performance conditions on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line have not seen significant changes since these proposals were last evaluated and rejected. The regulator’s focus remains on ensuring that the existing network operates efficiently without compromising service quality.