Lumo (Train Operating Company) - Lumo History - B

Lumo (Train Operating Company) - B

Lumo History

During 2015, in response to an announcement by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) that it would be allowing open-access operators to bid for additional rail paths on the East Coast Main Line in addition to those of the existing franchised operator Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), the British transport conglomerate FirstGroup submitted a proposal to operate services between London and Edinburgh. Under this plan, FirstGroup proposed to directly compete with existing road, rail and air services by offering all-standard class seating with an average ticket price of approximately £25.

A competing application from Alliance Rail Holdings was also submitted, but was rejected by the ORR after the revenue abstraction from VTEC had been estimated at £115 million, in comparison, FirstGroup's proposal was predicted to result in £7.9 million of abstracted revenue.

During May 2016, the ORR granted a ten-year track access agreement to the FirstGroup subsidiary East Coast Trains Limited, under which it would be allowed to operate up to five services in each direction from May 2021.

It would be the third such open access operator on the East Coast Main Line, the prior two being Hull Trains and Grand Central. It was acknowledged at the time of the application's granting that services were not expected to commence until 2021 as to allow the new operator to acquire new-build rolling stock.

In September 2021, the company's launch was confirmed alongside the adoption of the Lumo brand, which was described by the company as a combination of luminosity (Lu) and motion (mo). Two months later, Lumo moved to its permanent headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne.

During June 2022, it was announced that Martijn Gilbert had been appointed as the new managing director for both Lumo and Hull Trains, succeeding Phil Cameron and David Gibson respectively.

Lumo Overview

Lumo Franchise(s): Open-access operator
Not subject to franchising
25 October 2021 - 2031
Lumo Fleet Size: 5 Class 803s
Lumo Stations Called At: 5
Lumo Parent Company: FirstGroup
Lumo Reporting Mark: LD

Lumo Route Map

Edinburgh Waverley
Morpeth
Newcastle
Stevenage
London King's Cross