‘ryanair of trains’ unveils plans for new uk routes – including cardiff to york 

Lumo is planning to expand its rail services in the UK (Picture: Simon Williams)

A rail company dubbed the ‘Ryanair of trains’ has unveiled plans to expand its offerings across the UK.

Lumo,which is owned by FirstGroup plc,is looking to add new and extended rail services over the next few years – including launching a brand new route in December 2028. 

FirstGroup has submitted applications to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and is currently waiting for response.

Should they be successful,Lumo would have approval for a new route that ‘joins up the entire Great British Railway Network’,as well as more train services running between an existing route and trains able to run for an extended period.

This comes hot off the heels of The ORR approving the extension of Lumo’s existing service,adding Glasgow Queen Street to the popular London to Edinburgh route.

Here’s a closer look at the proposed plans…

Cardiff to York

They’ve proposed a new route between Cardiff and York (Picture: Getty Images)

Lumo wants to launch a new route between Cardiff and York from December 2028,which would connect all four main lines from the Great Western Main Line to the East Coast Main Line. 

The journey would call at Birmingham,Derby and Sheffield along the way and six return services would run each weekday. Currently there’s just one single weekly service.

The plan is to ‘replicate the success of the Edinburgh to London service’,which offers tickets from £50,bringing Lumo’s low-cost model to an ‘underserved corridor’.

Rochdale to London 

A revised application has been submitted to run new direct services between Rochdale and London Euston,via Manchester Victoria from December 2028. 

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He added: ‘We look forward to working closely with stakeholders as we develop our applications.’

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