Rochdale and Eccles could get direct train to London in new Greater Manchester plans

Rochdale and Eccles could soon get their own direct rail service to London. FirstGroup has announced plans to run six return trains a day between Greater Manchester and the capital.

The service would run between London Euston and Rochdale. It would call at Eccles and Manchester Victoria stations, as well as Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay.

FirstGroup confirmed it had submitted the first phase of an application for the new open access rail service to the Office of Rail and Road this morning (May 17). If it secures permission for the new service, it will be the first direct service from Rochdale to London since 2000.

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FirstGroup hopes to have the service, which would be part of its Lumo brand, up and running by 2027. It says the new route would provide 1.6 million people in the North West with a 'convenient and competitively priced direct rail service to London from stations that are more local to them'.

FirstGroup chief executive Graham Sutherland said: "We have extensive experience of running open access rail operations and we want to bring our successful Lumo service to this new route that connects Rochdale and London. We have seen the level of growth and opportunity that is possible with open access, as well as the positive effect it has on the wider market, including economic and environmental benefits.

"In addition, the new service will help to drive modal shift from road to rail between the North West and London. We will be working closely with stakeholders as we build our application and our case for this new service."

Whereas most train operating companies hold contracts with the government to run