Alliance Rail Holdings was a railway company developing plans to operate passenger trains in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR)[2] and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Despite various proposals, the company did not run any passenger services.
Alliance had undertaken detailed timetabling and economic work to support its applications to the Office of Rail & Road (ORR). Alliance was headed by Richard McClean who is also managing director of Grand Central. A new development team was announced on 12 August 2010.[3] The venture was wholly owned by Arriva.[4] On 23 February 2023, the company was legally dissolved. [1]
In June 2014, GNWR successfully concluded negotiations with Network Rail for access paths from London Euston to Blackpool, Huddersfield and Leeds from 2017 using Pendolino trains.[9]
However, in January 2015 and despite Network Rail support, the ORR refused these proposed GNWR services citing capacity issues and failing the not primarily abstractive test, meaning most of its revenue would be at the expense of existing users rather than new custom.[10] In 2010, it was proposed that services be operated by dual-mode (diesel + electric) Polaris trains,[11] capable of 140 mph (230 km/h).[12] Sixteen trainsets were expected to be ordered, with a capacity of up to 350 passengers each.[13] However, the Polaris deal was not finalised and Alliance indicated that it was investigating purchasing Pendolinos from Alstom.[14]
Alliance applied for altered paths with InterCity 225 sets to commence operating from September 2019. As these are not able to tilt, their speed would be restricted to 110 mph. Due to the lower speed, the revised service would only call at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Preston, Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde.[19][20]
In November 2016, Alliance began consultation on a proposed London Waterloo to Southampton service. It was proposed to operate seven off-peak services per day from December 2017, calling at Wimbledon, Hook, Basingstoke, Winchester and Eastleigh, with two peak services proposed from December 2018. It was set to use Class 442 trains.[24] Network Rail had identified available paths for Grand Southern to use.[19]
In March 2017, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) told Grand Southern to delay the application until the outcome of the South Western franchise was known. In March 2018, the ORR released an update confirming a delay to the application. The application was eventually rejected in August 2018.[25]
The reason for the rejection was that the Class 442s were no longer available. The proposal also generated only between £0.17 and £0.22 of new revenue for each pound abstracted from the incumbent operators, and the ORR requires it to be over £0.30, so it failed the "not primarily abstractive" test.[26]
It also proposed in 2009 to operate services from London King's Cross to Scarborough via the Yorkshire Coast Line, Skegness, Sheffield via Grantham, Grimsby and Middlesbrough, but these were rejected in 2010 by the ORR. It was also proposed in December 2013 that services would run services between Kings Cross and Skipton, but these were withdrawn in 2014 by the ORR.
^Silvester, Katie (October 2010). "Interview: Ian Yeowart". Rail Professional. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^Miles, Tony (December 2010). "Blackpool through service proposed in West Coast path frenzy". Modern Railways. London. p. 6. - Wild, Laura (9 June 2010). "Full steam ahead for Rochdale to London train service". Rochdale Online. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
