First Group announce new open access service to Hereford

[whole diary]

[ray951]

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?

[ray951]

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?

[Richard Fairhurst]

2023: GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) (owner: FirstGroup) withdraw two daily services from Hereford to Paddington

2025: Lumo (owner: FirstGroup) propose two additional daily services from Hereford to Paddington

 

[ChrisB]

If the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) request that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) drop shared services with another TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) & the operator disagrees, of course they form an OA opportunity

[Richard Fairhurst]

The head of Open Access at FirstGroup posts to a Certain Other Forum and is adamant that there are Chinese walls between the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)-contracted parts of First and the OA parts! Which I'm sure is true.

I think the point is rather that DfT mandated GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) 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.