Summer 2026 heralds not only a new train livery on the West Coast Main Line but a brand new service that will provide a direct link between several Scottish stations and London Euston.
Operated by Lumo, four trains a day will run between London Euston and Stirling, calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert, with an additional return service between Preston and London. For Stirling the service restores the direct link it had with London until 2024, for others there is finally the chance to reach the English Capital and the other West Coast destinations without the need to change trains and at very attractive prices.
The new service builds on Lumo’s success on the East Coast route where it has operated since 2021, bringing a new generation of passengers to rail and playing a key role in encouraging passengers to move from air to rail in significant numbers.
Government figures show that on the East Coast Lumo has increased rail’s share on the London-Edinburgh route from 35% to 50%, with the operator carrying over 4 million passengers by the middle of 2026 and continuing to see numbers grow. The extension of some services through to Glasgow has been well received and with Lumo’s low fares looking increasingly attractive as the cost of living crisis hits home the services are proving very popular with business and leisure travellers alike.
With Stirling to London fares starting at just £29.90 one way and similarly attractive deals available for shorter legs, as well as the additional savings available to Rail Card holders, the new service is sure to become popular very quickly. The ability to book ahead up to 24 weeks in advance, for most trains, gives travellers the ability to grab the best fares available and provides certainty when weighing up travel options.
Lumo points out that this is more than just the operation of some extra trains; the service will bring those Scottish towns and cities into a new era of connectivity, becoming places to live or to do business once key destinations become easier to reach. For these places the chance to tap into Scotland’s highly successful tourism and culture offerings cannot be ignored and there will be a significant economic value to having a more prominent place on the railway map. Lumo will provide a budget-friendly way to head off to that weekend break or short stay, as well as offering a sensible alternative to driving or flying for those heading to London for work or leisure.
Scotland featured strongly when Lumo opened its new Preston rail base in March; guests were entertained by Scottish boyband Just The Brave, who have racked up over five million likes on TikTok, whilst Lumo’s commitment to supporting cultural events along its route was emphasised as twenty performers from Preston Caribbean Carnival led an eye-catching procession from the station to the new headquarters ahead of the formalities.
Behind the scenes a great deal of work has been involved in gaining approval for the service and to be ready for its launch. Open access applications have to prove that the services will generate new passenger flows, space for the services on a very congested railway has to be identified and timetables approved, trains have to be sourced and maintenance agreements signed and staff must be recruited and trained. Clearly this involves a significant investment even before tickets go on sale and passengers are carried. Corners cannot be cut; if Lumo is unable to prove that it has a competent workforce and robust safety procedures in place the final box that grants approval for services to begin will remain unticked. Safety comes first on the railway and there are no exceptions just because a service needs to start earning some money.
The trains themselves will be six carriages long, following the East Coast operation by offering a single class of accommodation and onboard catering that focuses heavily on sustainability whilst supporting local suppliers. Each Class 222 unit, fresh from work elsewhere on the network, is being refreshed inside and out in a £10 million programme to ensure passengers get a new train feel when they join a Lumo West Coast service. Their bright blue livery with white embellishments will not only turn heads as the trains streak through the beautiful scenery along the route but it will evoke memories of the Coronation Scot steam trains, which began providing a premier service over the Anglo-Scottish route in the 1930s.
However, it isn’t just about a shiny fleet of trains; the crews onboard and the teams supporting the service from Lumo’s Preston office underline the company’s commitment to creating a modern talent pipeline. Whilst some drivers have transferred from other businesses a significant number are apprentices; new to rail and now completing a rigorous training programme that began back in June 2025. More experienced colleagues will provide further training and support for the drivers and they will be joined by around 50 customer experience ambassadors, recruited from across the route. Lumo is keen to see people coming into the business who may never have considered rail as a career option; many roles have been open to people without previous rail experience, encouraging people from a diverse range of backgrounds to join the industry. All are keen to deliver the highest quality of customer service; open access operators receive no government support and their survival and success depends significantly on customers being delighted with the service they have received. Every interaction matters, every member of staff is a Lumo ambassador and every journey experience matters for the future of the business. No wonder that open access operators in general achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the rail industry.
As Stuart Jones, Managing Director of First Rail Open Access, comments “We can’t wait to begin this new service in the coming months; we don’t think of Lumo as a service that runs through Scotland, we think of it as a service that belongs there.”
