| First Group announce new open access service to Hereford Posted by ray951 at 09:18, 6th June 2025 |     |
FirstGroup’s proposal is for two return journeys a day (one on Sundays) between London Paddington and Hereford, calling at Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction as well as providing direct London services at Cwmbran, Pontypool & New Inn and Abergavenny.
Further details can be found here https://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2025/06-06-2025.aspx
Only 2 journeys a day but is there room for more OA services into Paddington?
And if all the proposed OA services run won't there be a loss of service to all the places east of Bristol that these and the other First Group OA services don't stop at?
| Re: First Group announce new open access service to Hereford Posted by ray951 at 09:29, 6th June 2025 | |
FirstGroup’s proposal is for two return journeys a day (one on Sundays) between London Paddington and Hereford, calling at Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction as well as providing direct London services at Cwmbran, Pontypool & New Inn and Abergavenny.
Further details can be found here https://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2025/06-06-2025.aspx
Only 2 journeys a day but is there room for more OA services into Paddington?
And if all the proposed OA services run won't there be a loss of service to all the places east of Bristol that these and the other First Group OA services don't stop at, if you assume that these services will take some existing paths?
Further details can be found here https://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2025/06-06-2025.aspx
Only 2 journeys a day but is there room for more OA services into Paddington?
And if all the proposed OA services run won't there be a loss of service to all the places east of Bristol that these and the other First Group OA services don't stop at, if you assume that these services will take some existing paths?
| Re: First Group announce new open access service to Hereford Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 14:31, 6th June 2025 | |
2023: GWR (owner: FirstGroup) withdraw two daily services from Hereford to Paddington
2025: Lumo (owner: FirstGroup) propose two additional daily services from Hereford to Paddington
| Re: First Group announce new open access service to Hereford Posted by ChrisB at 21:05, 6th June 2025 | |
If the DfT request that GWR drop shared services with another TOC & the operator disagrees, of course they form an OA opportunity
| Re: First Group announce new open access service to Hereford Posted by Richard Fairhurst at 22:43, 6th June 2025 | |
The head of Open Access at FirstGroup posts to a Certain Other Forum and is adamant that there are Chinese walls between the DfT-contracted parts of First and the OA parts! Which I'm sure is true.
I think the point is rather that DfT mandated GWR to make savings; the little-used Cotswold through services to Hereford were an easy way to cut a lot of (effectively) dead mileage; and so it happened. Can't blame them at all for that.
But (Chinese walls notwithstanding) First's OA division will be very aware that the gains from Hereford itself are not that huge. Effectively this is a way of running OA services from Bristol Parkway to Paddington, with a little bit of extra revenue from Cwmbran, Abergavenny and Hereford.
