Glasgow Trains

Glasgow Trains is a proposed open access rail operator in Great Britain from Renaissance Trains. They would offer a twice daily direct service between Liverpool and Glasgow with intermediate stops at Preston and Carlisle. They would also run services between Nottingham station and Glasgow Central, a direct service lost after privatisation.

The concept arose in 2004, when Renaissance Trains entered negotiation with Network Rail for track access rights in order to operate services between the East Midlands, the North-west and Glasgow. The initial proposal advocated running two trains per day between Glasgow and Liverpool/Nottingham, by having a single train depart Glasgow, then divide at Preston, with half running to each destination. During the development of the business case, it was determined that running the Nottingham services via Leeds and Carlisle was a more viable alternative. Another possibility has been for trains to run to Blackpool.

The Glasgow Trains proposal was put on hold in November 2005 to allow the new franchises to be settled and their needs (in terms of train paths) identified. The proposal is continuing now. As of 6 September 2007, Renaissance Trains is now planning potential train paths for Glasgow Trains to use and their operations, in accordance with Network Rail. The investment programme for Glasgow Trains includes the opening of a new parkway station on the route between Glasgow and Liverpool.