Grand Central faces competition

摘要

The Virgin Trains East Coast access application also sought paths for extensions of existing services to Bradford, Harrogate and Lincoln. For the first two destinations, modelling by ORR's consultants CH2M showed that these additional services could cut revenue for open-access operator Grand Central by around £500 000 a year. This revenue loss was considered unlikely to result in Grand Central withdrawing its services, and ORR approved the VTEC extensions on the basis of the 'clear net benefits' for these communities. Firm rights will be available from May 2019 in line with VTEC's application.