The all-electric line from the North would be a major expansion of new train services which don't rely on huge taxpayer handouts.
Proposals for new fast train services linking Greater Manchester to London have been unveiled.
FirstGroup is applying to expand its all-electric Lumo services to add six return journeys a day between Rochdale and London Euston via Manchester Victoria.
The services would function as a direct link between the capital and the north-west while also improving connectivity within Greater Manchester by serving three stops in the area.
Expected to begin from 2027 if the plan is approved, the services would improve journeys for an estimated 1.6 million people in the north-west.
They would use new UK-built trains which run solely on electricity supplied from batteries, according to First Group.
The operator says tickets will be ‘competitively priced’ and offer people a ‘direct rail service to London from stations that are more local to them’.
After travelling from Rochdale to Manchester Victoria, the trains would call at Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay.
The Eccles stop means passengers from around Salford will have easier access to the line, while Newton-le-Willows links up to St Helens and other parts of Merseyside.
Lumo is one of the few train services in the UK which do not cost the taxpayer any money to run.
Most train operators in England are paid a hefty subsidy by the government, which bears responsibility for costs and revenue and tells them when to run many services.
They are effectively handed a monopoly over the network they run, which, according to some industry figures, pushes up prices and reduces the number of destinations offered.
But Lumo runs on a newer ‘open access’ model in which allows companies to ‘buy’ space on a railway and compete with the main operators without restrictions on timetabling.
Last year a report by Rail Partners, which represents eight major train operating firms including FirstGroup, Govia and Arriva, estimated that open access services could save passengers between 15% and 50% on ticket prices.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
