Grand Union is a prospective

open access operator In rail transport in Europe, an open-access operator is a train operating company that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and in countries where rail services run under ...

who are proposing to operate train services in the United Kingdom from England to Wales and Scotland. Grand Union is headed by Ian Yeowart, who founded previous open access operators

Alliance Rail Holdings Alliance Rail Holdings is a railway company developing plans to operate passenger trains in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR) and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Despite various propos ...

and Grand Central before selling both to

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

to operate trains between

London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...

and from December 2024.

Proposals

EnglandWales

Grand Union first proposal was to operate a two-hourly services between

and calling at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Cardiff Parkway. From 2023, the service would have been increased to hourly and extended to calling at: and Llanelli, with possibly a further extension to . In its April 2019 submission to the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

(ORR), it proposed operating hourly services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central. In July 2019, the application was withdrawn and replaced with an amended one. In May 2020, the application was replaced again seeing the introduction of a proposed extended service running to , with the initial two-hourly service starting in December 2021. In February 2021 the application was rejected. In April 2021 an amended application was lodged. Grand Union proposed to operate with

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

Class 91s and

Rail Operations Group Rail Operations Group (ROG) specialises in ad-hoc movement of rolling stock for rolling stock companies and train operating companies as well as locomotive spot hire services and the operation of charter trains. It has its headquarters and main ...

Class 93s hauling nine-car Mark 4s and a

Driving Van Trailer A Driving Van Trailer (DVT) is a Great Britain, British purpose-built control car railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate with a locomotive in Push-pull train, push-pull formation from the opposite end of a train. A key benefit of ...

. In December 2022, the ORR approved Grand Union's plan for the new rail service from Paddington to Carmarthen, directing

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

to enter into a contract with the operator. A fleet of new bi-mode trains will be used. The project is being developed in partnership with European investment company Serena Industrial Partners and Spanish rail operator Renfe. The new service is scheduled to commence in December 2024. The service will call at Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport, Cardiff Central,

Gowerton Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and Community (Wales), community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The villa ...

and Llanelli.

EnglandScotland

In August 2019, Grand Union lodged an application to operate four trains each way per day between

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

and

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

calling at , , , , , , , , and with InterCity 225s from May 2021. In June 2021, Grand Union lodged an amended application proposing to use

Class 91s and

Class 93s hauling nine-car Mark 4s and a

.Grand Union plans 93s to Stirling ''Modern Railways'' issue 875 August 2021 page 17

References

External links

* {{UK TOCs, future, state=collapsed British companies established in 2018 Open-access train operating companies Proposed public transport in the United Kingdom Renfe