Lower rail fares to London on the way

Which is great news if you live in the North East

First Group has been given the green light to launch a new low fares services between London, the North East and Edinburgh.

It will use the same line as Virgin Trains – however we will have to wait 5 year for this service to start as contingency work must first be carried out by Network Rail, which is due to be completed by 2021.

There will be five trains a day each way from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh, via stations at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth, by 2021.

Passengers will be able to travel to London with an average fare of less than £25, free Wi-Fi and on-board catering, all offered in one high-quality class of travel. This is a huge saving as your average fare with Virgin Trains right now is around the £100 mark depending on the time you travel.

The new service is designed to provide choice for passengers looking to travel between the areas.

Tim O’Toole, chief executive of First Group, said: “I’m pleased that the ORR has granted track access rights for our unique low-cost service between London, the North East of England and Edinburgh. This is great news for passengers, as our new service will widen the choice of travel options between these cities and offer an attractive alternative to those available today.

“We will offer genuinely low fares at half the average price of today, while adding significant benefits to the UK economy. Our brand new trains will be cheaper than other rail services, greener than the plane, quicker than the coach and will get passengers from London to Edinburgh earlier than they can arrive today, all for an average fare of less than £25.

“Now that our application has been approved and we have been granted rights we will implement the next steps to deliver our proposals which include discussions with Network Rail and rolling stock manufacturers.”

What do you think of this? Personally I am very excited by this as I would love to visit London with my family but it would cost a few hundred pound just for the return travel at the moment.