INAUGURAL LUMO SERVICE INTO SCOTLAND
Lumo: What's it like to travel on the new cut-price Edinburgh-London rail service?
The wraps came off Scotland’s first competitor train service between Edinburgh and London on Thursday as Lumo’s showcase inaugural run crossed the Border ahead of its public launch on Monday.
The Scotsman’s Transport Correspondent Alastair Dalton travelled on the Newcastle to Edinburgh leg of Lumo’s preview trip after taking an LNER train from Edinburgh to Newcastle to compare the services.
Lumo will seek to woo airline passengers between the capitals with its cut-price fares, but its main rival is likely to be London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which also operates on the east coast main line route that connects the cities.
However, the new firm – owned by Aberdeen-based FirstGroup – will initially run only two daily return services compared to LNER’s departures every half hour, some of which are around 15 minutes faster.
Lumo, the first “open access” operator to reach Scotland, will hope to make money by running shorter, but fuller trains than LNER, and emphasising the enhanced customer service it said will be provided by two staff, to be known as “ambassadors”, on board.
It hopes to attract one million passengers a year, filling two-thirds of the 1.5m available seats.
Lumo’s blue colour scheme inside and out contrasts sharply with LNER’s red, but the operators’ trains are actually similar, both being manufactured by Hitachi in County Durham.
The newcomer will set itself apart with novelties like a reading light on seat backs above fold-down tables, while it will also offer free films and TV programmes streamed via the LumoGo app, which is similar to former operator Virgin Trains East Coast’s BEAM service, which LNER scrapped when it took over in 2018.
Lumo managing director Helen Wylde said the firm would seek to emulate the customer service levels of airlines to attract more of their passengers.
She said: “We’ve modelled our service on the airlines so it looks more like an airline service.”
Ms Wylde said that would include Lumo’s “ambassadors” being more on hand “to manage people’s needs” and “provide someone to talk to”, while there would also be more announcements made during journeys to keep passengers informed.
She insisted air travel, not other train operators, was Lumo’s main competition.
Ms Wylde said: "A mark of our success would be to grow the rail market.”
How much will Lumo tickets cost?
Lumo will operate a single class of service, with no separate first class, unlike other cross-Border operators like LNER.
Until December 1, Lumo will offer one-way fares for a maximum of £19.90 if booked at least a day in advance, which is significantly less than LNER’s cheapest.
After that, the company said 60 per cent of its pre-booked one-way fares would be under £30.
Lumo’s Edinburgh-London fares checked by The Scotsman on Wednesday for December 2 and 3 were on sale for between £29.90 and £46.90
Lumo: What's it like to travel on the new cut-price Edinburgh-London rail service?
The wraps came off Scotland’s first competitor train service between Edinburgh and London on Thursday as Lumo’s showcase inaugural run crossed the Border ahead of its public launch on Monday.
The Scotsman’s Transport Correspondent Alastair Dalton travelled on the Newcastle to Edinburgh leg of Lumo’s preview trip after taking an LNER train from Edinburgh to Newcastle to compare the services.
Lumo will seek to woo airline passengers between the capitals with its cut-price fares, but its main rival is likely to be London North Eastern Railway (LNER), which also operates on the east coast main line route that connects the cities.
However, the new firm – owned by Aberdeen-based FirstGroup – will initially run only two daily return services compared to LNER’s departures every half hour, some of which are around 15 minutes faster.
Lumo, the first “open access” operator to reach Scotland, will hope to make money by running shorter, but fuller trains than LNER, and emphasising the enhanced customer service it said will be provided by two staff, to be known as “ambassadors”, on board.
It hopes to attract one million passengers a year, filling two-thirds of the 1.5m available seats.
Lumo’s blue colour scheme inside and out contrasts sharply with LNER’s red, but the operators’ trains are actually similar, both being manufactured by Hitachi in County Durham.
The newcomer will set itself apart with novelties like a reading light on seat backs above fold-down tables, while it will also offer free films and TV programmes streamed via the LumoGo app, which is similar to former operator Virgin Trains East Coast’s BEAM service, which LNER scrapped when it took over in 2018.
Lumo managing director Helen Wylde said the firm would seek to emulate the customer service levels of airlines to attract more of their passengers.
She said: “We’ve modelled our service on the airlines so it looks more like an airline service.”
Ms Wylde said that would include Lumo’s “ambassadors” being more on hand “to manage people’s needs” and “provide someone to talk to”, while there would also be more announcements made during journeys to keep passengers informed.
She insisted air travel, not other train operators, was Lumo’s main competition.
Ms Wylde said: "A mark of our success would be to grow the rail market.”
How much will Lumo tickets cost?
Lumo will operate a single class of service, with no separate first class, unlike other cross-Border operators like LNER.
Until December 1, Lumo will offer one-way fares for a maximum of £19.90 if booked at least a day in advance, which is significantly less than LNER’s cheapest.
After that, the company said 60 per cent of its pre-booked one-way fares would be under £30.
Lumo’s Edinburgh-London fares checked by The Scotsman on Wednesday for December 2 and 3 were on sale for between £29.90 and £46.90
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