Regulator rejects three proposed West Coast rail services

The Office of Rail and Road has rejected proposed new West Coast Main Line services linking London with Wrexham, Rochdale and Blackpool, saying the current timetable has too little capacity to accommodate them without putting reliability at risk. The regulator turned down Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway Company’s bid for a Wrexham-London service, Lumo’s proposal for Rochdale-London trains and Avanti West Coast’s request for additional services between London and Blackpool. The Wrexham and Rochdale proposals had been revised after similar applications were rejected in 2025. The ORR said its analysis found that gaps in the timetable are needed to let trains recover when disruption occurs. Filling those intervals with additional services would reduce that resilience and increase the risk of delays spreading to other routes, the regulator said. Its director of strategy, policy and reform, Stephanie Tobyn, said the West Coast Main Line was already under significant pressure and that more trains on the current timetable could worsen reliability for passengers.