BRITISH train operator FirstGroup has submitted an initial application for open-access train services between London and Sheffield. The proposals, put forward to regulator the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), include two return journeys each day linking London King’s Cross and Sheffield, via Retford and Worksop.

FirstGroup hopes to introduce the service in the second half of 2025. If granted permission by ORR, FirstGroup would operate the first direct trains between King’s Cross and Sheffield since 1968. Services between the capital and Sheffield are currently operated by East Midlands Railway (EMR) from London St Pancras.

FirstGroup claims that around 75% of trips between London and Sheffield are made by car, with coaches accounting for a further 9%, suggesting significant potential for modal shift from road to rail.

The company estimates that around 350,000 people live in the Worksop catchment area, and many existing rail users in this location currently drive longer distances to stations such as Doncaster to board fast services to London.

The open-access operation would be the third for FirstGroup, which started running Hull Trains between London and Hull in 1999 and Lumo, which runs on the East Coast Main Line between London, Newcastle and Edinburgh, in 2021.

FirstGroup currently operates contracted passenger services in Britain under the Great Western Railway (GWR) brand and at South Western Railway (SWR) in joint venture with MTR. With Italian operator Trenitalia, it provides Avanti West Coast services on the West Coast Main Line. In May 2023 the British Department for Transport (DfT) declined to extend FirstGroup’s contract at TransPennine Express (TPE) in the north of England.

The proposals for the London - Sheffield open-access services will now undergo a formal consultation period, while FirstGroup looks to secure necessary approvals, including train paths, with infrastructure manager Network Rail. Additional trains would be required for the new service and FirstGroup says it is discussing options with rolling stock leasing companies.