The rail regulator has rejected proposals for new Wrexham, Rochdale and Blackpool services to London Euston, warning that extra trains on the southern West Coast Main Line could make disruption harder to contain. It has, however, approved passengers on an existing Avanti West Coast train from Chester that currently runs empty.
The decisions are not contradictory: the Chester train already occupies a path in the timetable, while the rejected applications would add services in space the regulator says is needed to help trains recover after disruption.
Three bids refused
The Office of Rail and Road refused Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway’s application for four return services a day between Wrexham General and Euston. Three of the proposed rights were firm, with a fourth contingent. Lumo’s application for Rochdale–Euston services was for up to four return journeys on weekdays and Saturdays and three on Sundays.
Avanti West Coast also sought extra Blackpool North–Euston services: one return on weekdays and one on Saturdays. Its wider application included a weekday Chester–Euston passenger service. The regulator rejected the additional Blackpool trains but approved the Chester service.
In its assessment, the regulator said capacity and performance on the southern section of the line had not materially changed since similar applications were rejected in 2025. It said external review supported that conclusion. Timetable gaps, sometimes described as recovery or “firebreak” space, allow trains to regain time following delays. Filling them with more services could reduce that buffer and allow disruption to spread to other trains, affecting more passengers.
Why Chester is different
Avanti’s weekday 19:29 Chester–Euston movement already runs with its train and crew on board as an empty service. The approval allows it to carry passengers through December 2030, the expiry of Avanti’s current access contract. The regulator says the train will continue to run either way, so opening it to passengers does not add another train to the congested route.
The distinction is between making use of a train path that is already in the timetable and introducing additional movements that require scarce capacity. The ruling does not grant approval for a new Chester train; it gives passenger access to an existing empty one. The separate Blackpool additions remain refused.
A continuing capacity dispute
The rejected plans sought to create direct links from north Wales, Greater Manchester and Lancashire to the capital. The Wrexham and Lumo bids were open-access proposals, while Avanti sought changes to its existing services. Each required permission to use the relevant train paths. The regulator’s decision weighs those connectivity and passenger-choice aims against its concern about reliability for people using all services on the line.
Similar bids were turned down in 2025, and the latest assessment says the underlying capacity and performance conditions have not materially changed. The decision is therefore not a general finding that new destinations have no value; it is a conclusion that the proposed services cannot be fitted into the present southern WCML timetable without unacceptable performance risks.
For passengers, the immediate outcome is mixed: the proposed Wrexham, Rochdale and extra Blackpool links will not proceed under these applications, while the evening Chester train can carry passengers without a new train movement. The ruling leaves open the broader question of whether future timetable or infrastructure changes could create room for additional services; it does not itself promise that capacity will become available.
