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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchises |
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| Main regions | |
| Other region | East of England |
| Fleet | Class 803 |
| Stations called at | 5 |
| Parent company | FirstGroup |
| Reporting mark | LD |
| Other | |
| Website | www |
Lumo is a Britishopen-access operator owned byFirstGroup that operates passenger trains on theEast Coast Main Line betweenLondon King's Cross andEdinburgh Waverley. It is headquartered inNewcastle upon Tyne.
Lumo originated in 2015 with the submission of a bid by FirstGroup to theOffice of Rail and Road (ORR) to establish a new open-access operator to use additional rail paths on East Coast Main Line. It faced competition fromAlliance Rail Holdings, whose bid was rejected due to high estimated revenue abstraction from the existing franchised operator. In May 2016, the ORR granted a ten-year track access agreement to the FirstGroup subsidiaryEast Coast Trains Limited, which would later be rebranded as Lumo. During March 2019, a £100 million order for fiveClass 803electric multiple unit high speed trains was placed to operate Lumo's services.
Lumo's inaugural service was conducted on 25 October 2021. Initial operations involved the running of two trains per day in each direction on most week days; this was expanded to five trains per day by early 2022. Onboard catering is available, consisting of an at-seattrolley service, while an identical all-standard class two-by-two seating arrangement is present in every carriage.
During 2015, in response to an announcement by theOffice of Rail and Road (ORR) that it would be allowing open-access operators to bid for additional rail paths on theEast Coast Main Line in addition to those of the existing franchised operatorVirgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), the British transport conglomerateFirstGroup submitted a proposal to operate services between London and Edinburgh.
Under this plan, FirstGroup proposed to directly compete with existing road, rail and air services by offering all-standard class seating with an average ticket price of approximately £25.[1] A competing application fromAlliance Rail Holdings was also submitted, but was rejected by the ORR after the revenue abstraction (i.e. reduction in existing company's revenue as a result of the new operation) from VTEC had been estimated at £115 million; in comparison, FirstGroup's proposal was predicted to result in £7.9 million of abstracted revenue.[2][3]
During May 2016, the ORR granted a ten-year track access agreement to the FirstGroup subsidiaryEast Coast Trains Limited, under which it would be allowed to operate up to five services in each direction from May 2021.[4][5][6] It would be the third such open access operator on the East Coast Main Line, the prior two beingHull Trains andGrand Central. It was acknowledged at the time of the application's granting that services were not expected to commence until 2021, to allow the new operator to acquire new-build rolling stock.[2]
In September 2021, the company's launch was confirmed alongside the adoption of theLumo brand, which was described by the company as a combination ofluminosity (Lu) andmotion (mo).[7][2] Two months later, Lumo moved to its permanent headquarters inNewcastle upon Tyne.[8] During June 2022, it was announced that Martijn Gilbert had been appointed as the new managing director for both Lumo and Hull Trains, succeeding Phil Cameron and David Gibson respectively.[9]
In February 2024, the company announced they were in discussions to extend some of their Edinburgh services further to Glasgow.[10]
In May 2024, the company announced plans to run services from London Euston toRochdale viaManchester Victoria, from 2027, subject to ORR approval.[11][12]
In December 2024, following FirstGroup's acquisition ofGrand Union Trains, it was announced the proposedLondon Paddington toCarmarthen service would be operated by Lumo, comprising five return services daily. In addition to this, an application was submitted to theORR for track access rights to operate five return services daily between London Paddington andPaignton, along with a sixth path toHighbridge and Burnham.[13][14]
In June 2025, following FirstGroup's acquisition of Grand Union Trains, it was announced that the proposedLondon Euston–Stirling service would be operated under the Lumo brand, calling atMilton Keynes Central,Nuneaton,Crewe,Preston,Carlisle,Lockerbie,Motherwell,Whifflet,Greenfaulds,Larbert and Stirling, expected to commence in mid-2026. Four return services are expected to operate Monday-Saturday, with three on Sunday. An additional return service between Preston and London Euston will also operate.[15][16]
In July 2025, it was announced that some existing services betweenLondon King's Cross andEdinburgh would be extended toGlasgow Queen Street viaFalkirk High. The first service will leave Queen Street bound for King’s Cross at 09:22 on 14 December 2025, with one train in each direction on Sundays and one southbound train and two northbound trains on weekdays, there will be no services on Saturdays.[17][18][19]
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On 26 May 2021, the first trial runs of the company'sClass 803 high speed multiple units on the national rail network were conducted.[20]
On 25 October 2021, the inaugural service commenced; initially, Lumo operated two trains per day in each direction on most week days, although Saturdays saw only one train being run for a time. From the onset of operations, the service rate was set to be progressively increased up to running five trains each way by early 2022.[21][22] At launch, Lumo promised that 60% of fares would be offered for no more than £30, with a cap of £69 on one-way tickets.[23][24][22] According to the company, ticket sales around the launch date had exceeded expectations, and it had experienced particularly high demand for its weekend services.[25][24]
As of 2023[update], Lumo's timetable sees trains depart each terminus at off-peak times. The vast majority of journeys run the full route from Edinburgh to London, calling atMorpeth andNewcastle. A number of services additionally call atStevenage, for pick-up only on northbound services, and drop-off only for southbound trains. The fastest service reaches London from Edinburgh in four hours and three minutes, although the majority take around four hours and 30 minutes.[26]
| Route | tpd | Calling at |
|---|---|---|
| London King's Cross toEdinburgh Waverley | 5 |
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Lumo offers a single-class service, with freeWi-Fi connectivity for all passengers. The company promotes itself as a “digital-first” operator, emphasising its focus on paperless ticketing options and its website.[22] It also participates in theNational Rail system and accepts interoperable tickets.[27]
Onboard catering is available, consisting of an at-seattrolley service, while additional food and drink items from brands such asMarks & Spencer are available for pre-order by passengers for delivery mid-service.[28][24] Efforts have been made to cater to as diverse a range of dietary requirements as possible; around 50 per cent of all food serviced is plant-based, while the use of meat and dairy products has been intentionally minimised.[22][27]
An identical two-by-two seating arrangement is fitted throughout all five carriages; a pair of table seating per carriage is also available.[22][27] These ergonomically designed wingback seats are furnished with various amenities, including individual lighting and electric sockets, fold-down tables, and shaping to provide a greater sense of privacy. Priority seats are also present, along with two spaces forwheelchair users, on each train.[22][24] Various forms of media content, including films and television shows, can be streamed by passengers using the company'smobile app.[29]
Services are operated by a fleet of 125 mph (200 km/h)Class 803electric multiple unit trains, ordered in March 2019 at a cost of £100 million, financed by the rail leasing companyBeacon Rail.[25] While based on the sameHitachi AT300 design as theClass 801Azuma trains operated on the East Coast Main Line by franchised operatorLondon North Eastern Railway (LNER), they are not fitted with an auxiliary diesel engine, but instead feature batteries intended solely to power onboard facilities in case ofoverhead line equipment failure.[30] Other changes include an all-standard class seating configuration, as well as the lack of agalley area, although catering services are provided through the use of a trolley service. The Class 803 also featuresair conditioning, power sockets andWi-Fi provision.[31]
| Family | Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Carriages | Route | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||||
| Hitachi AT300 | 803 |  | EMU | 125 | 200 | 5 | 5 | Edinburgh Waverley –London King's Cross | 2020–2021 |
On 6 December 2024,FirstGroup announced the acquisition of 14 further brand-new five-carHitachi AT300 Class 80x units for its growing open access operations. These will be used on theLondon Paddington -Carmarthen services and to strengthen Lumo andHull Trains services fromLondon King's Cross.[32]
On 2 June 2025, FirstGroup announced they had entered into rolling stock leases withEversholt Rail for 5 existingClass 222 trains in order to serve the newLondon Euston-Stirling service, with services expected to commence in mid-2026.[33][34]
On 17 April 2022, a Lumo-operated Class 803 passed through a set of points at Peterborough railway station at 75 mph (121 km/h) where there was a speed restriction of 25 mph (40 km/h). Some passengers were thrown from their seats and sustained minor injuries. TheRail Accident Investigation Branch opened an investigation into the incident.[35]
Media related toLumo at Wikimedia Commons
