Welcome everyone to another suggestion, I'm TrainGeek08, and today I am suggesting something a bit different... that being a Gameplay Pack based on the Open Access Operators that are found running alongside LNER on the East Coast Main Line Before we start, what is an open-access operator? In rail transport, an open-access operator is an operator that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and in countries where rail services run under franchises are not subject to franchising. The Operators: Grand Central: Grand Central is an open-access train operating company in the United Kingdom. A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, it has operated passenger rail services since December 2007. The company was founded in April 2000 as 'Grand Central Railway Company'. Following multiple applications for track access rights, it launched its operations on the East Coast Main Line between Sunderland and London King's Cross in December 2007. Services between Bradford Interchange and London King's Cross commenced in May 2010. In November 2011, Grand Central was acquired by Arriva UK Trains. Grand Central has also put forward various proposals for operating additional services in the future. One such service, from London Euston to Blackpool North via the West Coast Main Line, was scheduled to begin in 2021, but the initiative was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hull Trains: Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement until December 2032. Hull Trains was originally established in 1999 in the aftermath of the privatisation of British Rail in response to the low volume of trains between Hull and London King's Cross operated by the incumbent franchise. Their initial track-access agreement was granted in December 1999, permitting operations to be launched on 25 September 2000. Hull Trains' track-access agreement has been extended multiple times since commencing operations. Ownership was originally divided between an 80 per cent stake held by the train operating company (TOC) GB Railways, while the former British Rail managers Mike Jones and John Nelson held the remainder. A majority stake in the company was acquired by FirstGroup in August 2003, leading to its rebranding as First Hull Trains five years later. FirstGroup made it a wholly-owned subsidiary by buying out the other shareholder in the venture during August 2014; that same year, the Hull Trains name was readopted. The Rolling Stock: The British Rail Class 180 'Adelante' in Grand Central livery And the British Rail Class 802 'Paragon' in Hull Trains livery Training (In Training Center): Class 180 Introduction Class 802 Introduction Scenarios: Class 180: Adelante Rescue: (Difficulty - 3) A Class 180 has failed at Marholm, just north of Peterborough, you have to cancel your service at Peterborough to go and rescue it and drag it back to Peterborough but it is the height of rush hour, so you do not have time to drive slow, just get on with it! Not So Grand Central: (Difficulty - 2) Drive this Grand Central service from Doncaster to Grantham, calling at Retford and Newark Northgate as the LNER service in front of you has no brakes, so failed to stop at Retford and Newark Northgate, so you have to pick up the confused passengers and take them towards London. Winter Zephyr: (Difficulty - 2) Drive this Class 180 from Peterborough to Doncaster whilst battling the wintery weather, do be careful though, as a freight train might catch you out and give you adverse signals at any moment. Good luck driver! Class 802: Hull Diversion: (Difficulty - 2) Drive this Hull Trains 'Paragon' service from Peterborough to Newark Northgate as an obstruction is blocking the line north of Newark Northgate towards Retford, so your train will have to divert towards Lincoln to get around the obstruction. Double Paragon: (Difficulty - 1) Drive this Hull Trains service from Grantham to Doncaster worked by a double set of 802 'Paragon' units, however due to a power supply problem on the overhead wires, you have to run in diesel mode for the journey north to Doncaster. Fitting In: (Difficulty - 3) Drive this Hull Trains 'Paragon' service from Doncaster to Peterborough on the East Coast Main Line, an increased number of freight services are on the line today, so be careful for adverse signals... Timetable: Either a new timetable with the GC and HT services added or included in both the 'reduced' and 'full' timetables on ECML. Service Pattern: 6tpd London King's Cross to Sunderland - stops at Peterborough (4tpd (future)) 4tpd London King's Cross to Bradford Interchange - stops at Doncaster 5tpd London King's Cross to Hull - stops at Grantham, Retford and Doncaster 2tpd London King's Cross to Beverley - stops at Grantham, Retford and Doncaster Achievements/Trophies: C180: You'll Be Going Nowhere Complete the Class 180 scenario 'Adelante Rescue' C180: East Coast Zephyr Drive the Class 180 for 1800 miles C802: Paragon Power Complete the Class 802 scenario 'Double Paragon' C802: It's Never Dull in Hull Drive the Class 802 for 8200 miles Lumo? I have made the decision not to include Lumo in this suggestion because Lumo does not regularly stop at any stations between Doncaster and Peterborough but like with Grand Central and Hull Trains, here is some background information on LNER's so-called 'rival'... Lumo is a British open-access operator owned by FirstGroup that operates passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne. Lumo originated in 2015 with the submission of a bid by FirstGroup to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to establish a new open-access operator to use additional rail paths on East Coast Main Line. It faced competition from Alliance Rail Holdings, whose bid was rejected due to high estimated revenue abstraction from the existing franchised operator. In May 2016, the ORR granted a ten-year track access agreement to the FirstGroup subsidiary East Coast Trains Limited, which would later be rebranded as Lumo. During March 2019, a £100 million order for five Class 803 electric multiple unit high speed trains was placed to operate Lumo's services. Lumo's inaugural service was conducted on 25 October 2021. Initial operations involved the running of two trains per day in each direction on most week days; this was expanded to five trains per day by early 2022. Onboard catering is available, consisting of an at-seat trolley service, while an identical all-standard class 2-by-2 seating arrangement is present in every carriage. Lumo refers to itself as being a “digital-first” operator, practising paperless ticketing and seeking to make booking tickets as easy as possible. I hope you have enjoyed this suggestion, tell me below if you want me to do more suggestions like this in the future if you like this one, I've been TrainGeek08 as ever, have a Happy New Year and I'll see you all for the next suggestion in 2024, and for one final time, it's goodbye from me
Good suggestion Is the picture of the hull trains unit from NCL station? I recognise the castle type thing in the back, but have never seen them up here.
Cheers, glad you like the suggestion Yes, the HT 802 is at Newcastle, I presume it was on test at the time the picture was taken
First, we need the suburban Leeds to Bradford line for the 180 - it doesn't stop between King's Cross and Doncaster so would be AI only otherwise, which isn't likely. The 802 needs the Hull to Doncaster line via Selby, then it could layer onto ECML as well.
Alright bet, I'm invested now. Hopefully, fingers crossed the class 180 gets added, truly a beautiful train.
The Hull Trains 802 may be worth making as a loco DLC but the Grand Central 180 is a nonstarter as there would be no services in the timetable other than AI. It would need another route to drive on. I watched Don Coffey’s Hull Trains 802 video yesterday. Loads of info in that.
Watched the same video. I would love the 802 on a Doncaster - Hull route, with the addition of a 170 and 185. My ideal route would be Doncaster - Hull with a branch to Cleethorpes as it’ll provide some life to Doncaster with all the layers
The 180 wouldn't make sense since it doesn't stop regularly at Peterborough and Doncaster in the sane service, just one or the other The 802 however, it could work as it stops at three of the five stations on the Peterborough to Doncaster section of the ECML
The 180 would be nice to have, but since the Grand Central services do not stop at any stations other than Peterborough and Doncaster, it would be AI only, which eliminates the purpose of this pack
I agree, the 802 is more likely to be put forward as a DLC versus the 180 just because HT make more stops than GC do along the section represented in TSW
It would be out of the ordinary to expect 2 new trains at £19.99 and crazy at £9.99 comparing 2 new trains to a tanker is another crazy pretty sure grand central serves only as Ai purpose as well for the current ECML section, and thus not much value at what it would take to build.
That's justifiable, maybe somewhere in the middle then There is no point in GC services unless it is layered, it is because GC run non-stop for the stretch of ECML in game currently
Definitely, then it could layer onto ECML, because being AI only is not what the purpose of this pack would be
they would probably be about £13-£15 each as with any other train dlc but yes it would probably only happen if there was a good place to operate them
