This service will offer a significant number of additional seats on this important cross-country route while also linking Wales, England and Scotland with a regular daily service of 5 trains per day. It will also create passenger choice where there currently is none, offering a wider range of affordable fares than are currently on offer.
Services are currently planned to start with off-lease and refurbished Class 222 trains, which will later be replaced by new build bi-mode Hitachi trains. Discussions with the rolling stock leasing companies and the manufacturer have been on-going for some time.
The Route
The service is applied for under the ‘Alliance’ banner, and the trains will start at Cardiff Central then call at Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York and Newcastle before continuing on to Edinburgh Waverley.
Working Local
We have been in regular discussions with Welsh, Scottish and other stakeholders who have regularly identified the lack of connectivity, the lack of seating and the high ticket prices on this route. This new service will also bring significant full-time employment to a number of areas on the route.
All Aboard for a Relaxing Experience
We aim to provide the very best on-board experience – where we value every single customer and offer a good choice of catering and refreshments regardless of your ticket price.
Our comfortable trains will be configured to our specification to provide much better seats, with more space and leg-room for passengers compared to other train operators, with good space for luggage. Trains are planned to be formed of 7 coaches, with the replacement 7 coach Hitachi trains seeing around a 30% further uplift in seating capacity when introduced.
All our journeys will have a full complement of safety-trained staff onboard, so passengers can be confident their service is as safe as possible.
A Fair Price
We believe train travel should be affordable and accessible for everyone. We will aim to provide the best possible value for money on ticketing, attracting passengers who currently cannot afford rail travel.
As well as selling advance tickets in what will become a more competitive environment, passengers will also be able to buy tickets on the train, with our prices significantly below the inter-available fare. Passengers will also be able to use railcards for on-train ticket purchase.
Our Seat Guarantee
Passengers rightly expect to receive a seat – and a seat will be part of the ticket price for all journeys over 30 minutes. If we cannot provide a seat on a particular journey, we will refund a standing passenger 50% of their ticket price for that journey, or if they buy a ticket onboard, discount their ticket at the time of purchase.