Lumo reveals new West Coast service launch date

The official start date of popular open access operator Lumo’s new West Coast rail service has been confirmed as 25 May 2026.

 

To celebrate the news, Lumo partnered with Stirling Pride to give away special ‘golden tickets’ to lucky winners in the city. Award-winning drag queen Cherry West, who is starring in this year’s festival, surprised people with a chance to travel to London on the pioneering new low-cost service.

 

Stirling Pride is one of the first events that Lumo is supporting on the route as it prepares to launch on the West Coast Main Line. The operator also recently partnered with Preston Caribbean Carnival to open its new rail base in the city, organising an eye-catching procession to celebrate the creation of around 100 jobs.

Lumo’s much-anticipated service will offer big savings for customers on the popular route, with tickets starting from just £29.90 between London Euston and Stirling. Travelling from London to Preston starts from just £23.90 and Preston to Stirling from an astonishing £14.90. The service will also call at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.

The new service will use eye-catching trains in Lumo’s signature blue, with refreshed interiors offering Lumo’s industry-leading customer experience. Lumo will operate a single-class service designed to offer low-cost fares and attract more people to train over air and road.

Stuart Jones, Managing Director of First Rail Open Access, said: “This is a very exciting moment in our journey to launching a pioneering new service for the West Coast. Customers can look forward to simple, low-cost fares with an excellent experience on our services between Scotland, the North West of England and London.

“I’m very proud that we’re already forging some meaningful connections in the communities on the route. Thank you to the team at Stirling Pride for helping us to reveal the news of our official start date in true Lumo style, by giving people in the city a chance to join us on a journey very soon.”

Stirling Pride returns on 29 August and promises to be bigger than ever with fabulous music, drag artists, ceilidh dancing and family activities. Lumo also proudly supports Glasgow’s Pride, Edinburgh Pride and Pride in Gateshead in North East England.

Scott McMurray, Co-founder of Stirling Pride, said: “Stirling is buzzing about the arrival of Lumo in the city later this month, so it’s amazing to see the team already proudly standing alongside LGBTQ+ events like ours. We loved teaming up with

Lumo to announce their official launch date in style and also give a taste of this year’s Pride celebrations in the city!”

Adam Cunliffe, Chief Executive Officer of Beacon, said: “Congratulations to the lucky winners of the ‘golden tickets’ awarded by Lumo and Stirling Pride. We are proud to be supporting Lumo on the introduction of their new West Coast rail service and look forward to seeing the trains enter passenger service.”

Steve Harvey, Services Director UK and Ireland at Alstom, said: "Alstom is proud to help Lumo launch its new West Coast service through our refurbishment programme of their Class 222 fleet. Our focus remains on providing refreshed trains that are reliable, welcoming and ready to serve passengers from day one.

"Seeing Lumo announce its arrival through such positive community partnerships reflects the values we share around inclusion, accessibility and putting customers first."

Lumo is renowned for being among the top performing UK rail operators, with industry leading customer satisfaction scores and reliability. Lumo has also won a range of awards for its powerful community partnerships driven by purpose and making a positive difference. Lumo’s new route will link London Euston directly with Stirling, also calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet (serving Coatbridge), Greenfaulds (serving Cumbernauld) and Larbert. Significantly, this new route gives Whifflet and Greenfaulds their first-ever direct rail services to London, providing substantial economic benefits and new travel opportunities.

The operator already successfully serves the East Coast Main Line, linking Glasgow, Falkirk and Edinburgh with the North East of England and London.