Grand Central Railway Company Ltd is a United Kingdom railway company that plans to run trains from Sunderland and Hartlepool to London from 2007 under the name Grand Central. Rather than operating under a franchise from the Department for Transport like Britain’s principal National Rail train operators, Grand Central will be running under the ‘open access’ status (already used by Hull Trains) which opens the railway network to services run on a fully commercial, unsubsidised basis. The company was formed in the mid-1990s and originally planned to operate high-speed train services between Newcastle and Manchester across the Calder Valley. This proposal was rejected by the Rail Regulator in 2004. Image File history File links Gnome_globe_current_event. ... A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 596 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,576 × 1,920 pixels, file size: 1. ... Grand Union is a railway company that is planning to run trains along the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Bradford Interchange via Huddersfield. ... The Great Central Railway (GCR) was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 on the completion of its London Extension. ... Image File history File links Grand_Central_Trains_logo. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Kings Cross station (often spelt Kings Cross on platform signs) is a railway station in the district of the same name in northeast central London. ... Looking north along the platforms at Sunderland station Sunderland station is a mainline and Tyne and Wear Metro station in Sunderland, north-east England. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sunderland station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in Sunderland, north-east England. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Hartlepool railway station The station platforms Hartlepool railway station serves the town of Hartlepool within the borough of Hartlepool and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Eaglescliffe railway station serves the town of Eaglescliffe in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and the ceremonial county of County Durham. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Northallerton Railway Station Lies On The East Coast Main Line ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Thirsk railway station lies on the British East Coast Main Line. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The approach to York station and the Royal York hotel York railway station is a main-line railway station in the historic city of York. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... ... For other uses, see Sunderland (disambiguation). ... , Hartlepool is a North Sea port in North East England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the transport network. ... National Rail uses the BR double-arrow logo A typical National Rail station sign showing the double-arrow logo National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). ... ^ Pick up northbound, set down southbound; selected weekday services only Hull Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom, running up to seven long distance services each day between London Kings Cross and Hull. ... Calder Valley is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Statutory office - created by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993 - for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry. ...

On 23 March 2006, Grand Central received approval from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for a contract with Network Rail, lasting a minimum of five years, allowing it to operate three passenger services per day in each direction between London and Sunderland, expected to start no later than December 2006. Problems in obtaining suitable rolling stock led to the date for the start of service being put back to May 2007.^[1] However, further delays in refurbishing rolling stock for the service has delayed the start further, with the service planned to begin in September 2007, but it is delayed again ^[2] and it is expected to be introduced from mid November.^[3] is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is the UK governments agency for regulation of the countrys railway network. ... Network Rail is a British not for dividend company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares. ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ...

The East Coast Main Line is one of the busiest lines on the rail network and there is currently insufficient capacity on parts of the line to satisfy all the requirements of both passenger and freight operators. The principal long-distance passenger train operator on the east coast is Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), which in March 2005 signed a ten-year franchise with the Department for Transport, committing to pay annual premiums to the government totalling £1.3 billion over the life of the contract. Many observers at the time believed that to be too expensive, and GNER has since encountered financial difficulties in making the payments. The East Coast Main Line viaduct at Durham. ... Carrbridge Aviemore Kingussie Newtonmore Blair Atholl Pitlochry Dunkeld Gleneagles Dunblane Falkirk Stonehaven Montrose Arbroath Leuchars Kirkcaldy Inverkeithing Motherwell Edinburgh Haymarket Dunbar Berwick-upon-Tweed Alnmouth Morpeth Durham Darlington Northallerton Harrogate Horsforth Skipton Keighley Shipley Bradford Forster Sq Wakefield Westgate Brough Selby Retford Newark North Gate Grantham Stevenage London Kings Cross...

As a result of capacity uncertainties, Grand Central was not given regulatory approval to run the originally proposed service to Bradford. It had proposed splitting and joining the Sunderland and Bradford trains at Doncaster, with a single service to and from London Kings Cross but the plan was rejected following concerns expressed by Network Rail. For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. ... ...

Grand Central has promised to give an immediate 50% refund to any passenger unable to find a seat at any time during the journey.

GNER has vigorously opposed the prospect of on-rail competition on the east coast main line from Grand Central. The regulatory hearing at ORR saw strong objections to Grand Central's services from GNER, but these were rejected. GNER then challenged the legality of ORR's decisions by bringing a judicial review of ORR's decision in the High Court. On 27 July 2006, GNER's case failed and the High Court ruled that the ORR's decision to allow Grand Central access to the national railway network - paying access charges which are structurally different from (and lower than) those payable by franchised passenger train operators - was legal.^[4] is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Grand Central service will link parts of the North East that have not had a direct service to London for many years.

Rolling stock

Computer generated image of a Class 222 unit in Grand Central livery

Grand Central originally planned to use a fleet of five of Bombardier Transportation’s five-carriage Class 222 diesel-electric multiple-unit 125-mph (200-km/h) trains, similar to those already in use by Hull Trains and Midland Mainline, and related to the Class 220/221 units used by Virgin Trains. However, difficulties in securing leases on these units led to them being leased elsewhere. Image File history File links Grand_Central_Train. ... Image File history File links Grand_Central_Train. ... Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Bombardier group. ... The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train. ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Kilometres per hour (American spelling: kilometers per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ... This article is about the train operating company Midland Mainline Railway. ... A Class 220 Voyager stops at York. ... Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom, which currently provides services from London Euston to the West Midlands, the North West and Scotland, on the West Coast Main Line. ...

On October 5, 2006, it was announced that Grand Central had secured the use of six Class 43 power cars, 6 HST Trailer vehicles (3 TRSB and 3 TGS) and 18 former loco hauled Mark 3 coaches to form three complete train sets. However the former loco hauled Mark 3 will need a complete rewiring in order to work with the Class 43 power cars as they have different electrical requirements.^[5] This caused the company's start date to be pushed back to 20 May 2007^[6] and then further to again to September 2007, and again at a later update. As of 26th October 2007, Grand Central HSTs can be seen in Heaton TMD in Newcastle, presumably awaiting mainline service. For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the other locomotive given TOPS Class 43, see British Rail Class 43 (Warship Class). ... Mark 3 DVT at Norwich station British Rails third design of carriages was designated Mark 3. ... Mark 3 DVT at Norwich station British Rails third design of carriages was designated Mark 3. ... For the other locomotive given TOPS Class 43, see British Rail Class 43 (Warship Class). ... is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Heaton TMD is a railway Traction Maintenance Depot situated in Heaton, near Newcastle upon Tyne, England, next to the East Coast Main Line north of Newcastle Central station. ...

In August 2007, Grand Central hired a pair of Class 47 locomotives and a rake of five Mark 3 coaches, from DRS, to enable its staff to learn the route prior to the introduction of its HST fleet.^[7] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Two Class 47s, Nos. ... Delayed Reaction Syndrome, where a person has a long time to respond or react to an event. ...

Grand Central's first train into Kings Cross was on 9 November 2007, forming 1A60 0653 Sunderland to Kings Cross and 1N26 11.27 return; this was formed by 43067 and 43080 plus four Mark 3 trailer vehicles^[8].

In April 2007, Grand Central announced plans to lease brand new rolling stock from 2010 to replace the HSTs, on the provision that its track-access contract is extended beyond the initial five years. In conjunction with Sovereign Trains, a newly formed rolling stock lessor, Grand Central plans to obtain new Polaris DEMU trains from China. These new express trains will be capable of up to 140 mph, which will allow them to take advantage of any future speed limit increases on the ECML.^[9]. For the other locomotive given TOPS Class 43, see British Rail Class 43 (Warship Class). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Mark 3 DVT at Norwich station British Rails third design of carriages was designated Mark 3. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination. ... Rolling Stock banner Rolling Stock was a newspaper of ideas and a chronicle of the 1980s published in Boulder, Colorado by Ed Dorn and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn. ... James Best, portraying the character that made him famous, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, along with his sidekick, Flash. Spoiler warning: On the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, Rosco P. (Pervis) Coltrane is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county administrator, Jefferson...

Planned route

Geographical representation of the route

Grand Central intends to operate services from London King's Cross to Sunderland. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This GNER train serving Kings Cross is named White Rose after the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. ... Looking north along the platforms at Sunderland station Sunderland station is a mainline and Tyne and Wear Metro station in Sunderland, north-east England. ...

Grand Central has announced that two of its scheduled services will be named. On Monday-Saturday, the first departure from Sunderland (06.56) will be named The Zephyr, the final departure from Kings Cross (16.50) will be known as The 21st century Limited.^[10]

Proposed future services

In addition to its services to Sunderland, Grand Central also has plans for a number of other routes:

London-Bradford

As part of its original proposal, Grand Central also sought to run services between Kings Cross and Bradford. The company has maintained this ambition, with a proposal to run four services per day each way.

Grand Union

Main article: Grand Union Railway

Under the name Grand Union, Grand Central has developed a case for running services over two additional routes; Doncaster to Bradford Interchange, and London Euston to Bradford Interchange via Huddersfield. Grand Union is a railway company that is planning to run trains along the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Bradford Interchange via Huddersfield. ... LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T 42072 at Bradford Exchange, 1966/7 Bradford Interchange railway station is one of two railway stations in Bradford, West Yorkshire. ... Facade of Euston Station, London Euston Arch: the original Euston Station, as enlarged, ca 1851 Euston station concourse Euston station (also known as London Euston), is a large railway station in Central London. ... Huddersfield railway station serves the town of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. ...

Other proposed routes

Grand Central was originally linked with a proposal to run shortened HSTs between Newcastle and Preston, via the Durham Coast, York, Wakefield, Brighouse, Rochdale and Manchester. It later suggested a York to Chester service to be run by DMUs (probably Class 158s displaced from TransPennine Express). Neither of these proposals was approved.^{[citation needed]}

References

The Journal is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ...

External links

• Official website of Grand Central Railway
• Map showing the Sunderland service along with GNER, Hull Trains, and the rejected Bradford route
• BBC News article on the topic