The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected proposals for new direct train services between London and the towns of Wrexham and Rochdale due to capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line. According to the ORR, the railway is heavily used, and introducing additional services could lead to increased delays and reduced reliability across the network.
The decision also affects proposed additional services between London and Blackpool. The regulator emphasized the need for timetable gaps, which are crucial for allowing trains to recover from disruptions and preventing delays from cascading throughout the network.
This rejection follows previous decisions against similar proposals for direct services to Wrexham and Rochdale. The intended Wrexham route would have created a new direct link between the Welsh town and London, while a planned Lumo service aimed to connect Rochdale with the capital.
However, the ORR has approved one additional evening service between London and Chester, operated by Avanti. This service will enable a train that would otherwise return to a depot without passengers to carry customers instead.
The ORR’s assessment concluded that the conditions regarding capacity and performance on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line have not significantly changed since earlier rejections of similar service proposals. This highlights ongoing challenges in balancing service expansion with maintaining network reliability.