New London Euston to Manchester Victoria rail service proposed by LNWR
LNWR train heading north at Euston with Avanti service on left
A new railway service could be introduced between London Euston and Manchester Victoria by an existing operator extending trains.
Existing London North Western Railway services which run to Crewe would be extended through to Manchester Victoria, while current services between Stafford and Crewe would be extended to Manchester Airport.
I’ve used LNWR a few times and their existing Desiro trains are perfectly fine for a few hours. Of course they stop a fair but more than Avanti services but this is reflected in some pretty decent fares.
However now LNWR plan to use their new Class 730 stock “and will provide a significant increase in capacity, with each 10-car train able to carry more than 1,200 passengers”.
These are sister trains to others widely used (though all of course have varying internal spec) from London Overground’s Class 710 to Greater Anglia’s Class 720.
The Aventra platform is also used on the Elizabeth line and could well be the basis for any Southeastern order to replace the Networker’s if a future government signs it off.
LNWR’s Class 730 variant offers tables and plug sockets.
Benefits
If services do start they’ll compete with Avanti as well as potential open access operators.
With the franchise rail system now firmly dead and rail companies either entirely government owned such as Southeastern or returning all fare revenue to the treasury such as LNWR, the company state it’ll benefit taxpayers:
“Additionally, unlike the Open Access model, the millions of pounds of extra revenue our proposals would generate will be returned to the taxpayer, providing a win-win for rail passengers.
In addition they state it better utilises an extremely busy Euston station:
“With platform space at Euston at a premium, the best way to provide new journey opportunities to Manchester is simply to extend existing services, rather than trying to squeeze more trains onto the congested West Coast Main Line.”.
LNWR are aiming for services to commence in May 2026.
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Sounds like a good idea for London Northwestern Railway to operate the Class 350 and Class 730/2 from London Euston to Manchester Victoria and Manchester Airport. And from Birmingham New Street to Manchester Airport and Manchester Victoria. Whilst Avanti West Coast will still operate to Manchester Piccadilly and could extend to Manchester Victoria.
If Avanti are going to take services round past Manchester Oxford Road, they may as well keep going to Carlisle and beyond… but all thoughts of increasing South-North capacity across Manchester have collapsed thanks to crushing of HS2 aspirations.