Grand Central (train operating company) facts for kids

Grand Central is a special train company in the United Kingdom. It is called an "open-access" operator. This means it runs trains on tracks that are also used by other companies. Grand Central is part of a bigger company called Arriva UK Trains. It has been running passenger train services since December 2007.

The company started in April 2000 as 'Grand Central Railway Company'. After asking for permission many times, it began running trains on the East Coast Main Line. These first trains went between Sunderland and London King's Cross in December 2007. Later, in May 2010, services started between Bradford Interchange and London King's Cross. In November 2011, Arriva UK Trains bought Grand Central.

Grand Central has also suggested running more train services in the past. For example, a service from London Euston to Blackpool North was planned for 2021. This route would have used the West Coast Main Line. However, this plan was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

How Grand Central Started

The idea for Grand Central came about after British Rail was split up into many private companies in the mid-1990s. A group of former British Rail managers, led by Ian Yeowart, tried to win contracts to run train lines. They used the name Grand Central for their bids. However, they did not win any of these contracts. Because of this, the first Grand Central company closed down in March 1998.

In April 2000, a new company, 'Grand Central Railway Company', was created. This time, it aimed to run trains as an "open-access" operator. This meant it would run services without needing a special government contract. A year later, the company announced plans to buy used Intercity 125 trains to start its own services.

In June 2003, Grand Central asked the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) for permission. They wanted to run trains every two hours from Newcastle to Bolton. These trains would go through the Caldervale Line and Manchester Victoria. They planned to use InterCity 125 trains from another company, Virgin CrossCountry. But in June 2004, this request was turned down.

Getting Permission to Run Trains

While setting up its services, Grand Central got help from a coach company called Fraser Eagle Group. In March 2006, Fraser Eagle bought 79% of Grand Central. Another train company, Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), was not happy about this. GNER even threatened to stop working with Fraser Eagle.

In February 2005, Grand Central asked the ORR again for permission. This time, they wanted to run four daily trains from Sunderland to London King's Cross. They also wanted to run four daily trains from Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross. They planned to use Class 67 locomotives with five Mark 3 carriages. In March 2006, the ORR gave Grand Central permission for three daily Sunderland to London King's Cross services. GNER tried to stop this decision, even taking it to court, but their challenge was rejected in July 2006.

In March 2007, Fraser Eagle sold its share in Grand Central for £10 million. Two former managers from another company, Prism Rail, bought it with help from a private investment group.

Trains were supposed to start running in May 2007. However, there were delays in getting and fixing up the trains.

43080 at London King's Cross on 18 December 2007, the first day of Grand Central services

On December 18, 2007, Grand Central officially started its train services. The first trains ran between Sunderland and London King's Cross. At first, they only ran one train in each direction between Sunderland and King's Cross, and one between York and King's Cross. This was because they were still waiting for all their trains to be ready. By March 2008, the full schedule was in place. However, the InterCity 125 trains had mechanical problems. This led to many cancellations and fewer services between May and July 2008.

In March 2008, Grand Central asked the ORR to run three daily trains from Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross. In January 2009, they got permission for these services until December 2014. They also got permission for a fourth Sunderland to London King's Cross service until May 2012. In August 2009, the fourth daily Sunderland to London train started running.

In February 2010, the ORR announced that Grand Central's permission to run trains was extended until December 2016.

On May 23, 2010, Grand Central's services between Bradford Interchange and King's Cross finally began. They had hoped to start in December 2009, but it was hard to get the right trains, which caused delays.

In November 2011, Arriva UK Trains bought Grand Central. At that time, Grand Central had 123 employees.

Since December 2011, trains from Bradford have made an extra stop at Mirfield. In December 2012, a fifth train was added to the Sunderland to London route. However, it started at Hartlepool at first due to track issues. In December 2013, a fourth daily train from Bradford to London King's Cross began.

In August 2014, Grand Central's permission to operate was extended again, this time until December 2026.

Grand Central During the COVID-19 Pandemic

From April 3, 2020, Grand Central temporarily stopped all its services. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A company spokesperson said they stopped services to protect the company's money. This was important because Grand Central is not a franchised train company. This meant it did not get the same financial help from the government as other train companies. Grand Central started running trains again on July 26, 2020. At first, they ran a limited number of trains each day.

After the UK government announced a second lockdown, Grand Central stopped all services again from November 6, 2020. When the second lockdown ended, services restarted on December 3, 2020. They had a limited schedule, and you had to book a seat in advance. After the third lockdown was announced, Grand Central stopped all services again from January 9, 2021, until March 1, 2021.

Grand Central Routes and Services

Current Train Services

Grand Central connects the Yorkshire and North East regions to London. It uses two main routes.

Six trains run daily on the North East to London route. These trains go between Sunderland and London King's Cross. They stop at Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk, and York. One train each day also stops at Peterborough in both directions. On Sundays, five trains run in both directions. This route is called the North Eastern service.

Four trains run daily on the Yorkshire to London route. These trains go between Bradford Interchange and London King's Cross. They stop at Low Moor, Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate, and Doncaster. Some trains also stop at Pontefract Monkhill or Peterborough. This route is known as the West Riding service.

Planned Services for the Future

London King's Cross to Cleethorpes

In December 2017, Grand Central announced plans to try and get permission for a new service. This service would go from London King's Cross to Cleethorpes. The plan was to extend the existing Bradford Interchange service. The train would have ten carriages from London to Doncaster. Then, it would split. Five carriages would go to Cleethorpes, and the other five would continue to Bradford Interchange. This plan would need special permission for trains to split like this. In February 2018, Grand Central also planned an extra stop at Crowle. They hoped to run four trains a day from 2020. However, new track fees announced in July 2018 made Grand Central delay their plans until 2019.

More Bradford and Sunderland Services

In March 2018, Grand Central announced that it had asked for permission to run more trains. They wanted to increase services from London to Sunderland from five to six trains. They also wanted to increase services from London to Bradford Interchange from four to six trains. These new services would use Adelante trains.

York to London King's Cross

In May 2018, Grand Central planned to add an extra evening train service. This train would run between York and London before 10 PM. It would be a long train with ten carriages.

Wakefield Kirkgate to London King's Cross

Grand Central asked for an extra early morning train and an evening train from London to Wakefield. This request was turned down because it did not meet the financial rules. However, in May 2018, Grand Central asked for the service again. This would mean one train per day in each direction between London King's Cross and Wakefield.

Newcastle to Brighton

In April 2025, Grand Central asked for permission to run a direct train service between Newcastle and Brighton. This service would stop at many stations, including Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Birmingham New Street, Oxford, Reading, Gatwick Airport, and Haywards Heath. This new service could start in December 2026.

Services That Were Planned But Did Not Happen

Grand Central also showed interest in running trains between York and Chester, Bradford and London, Lincoln and London, and Blackpool and London.

Blackpool North to London Euston

In November 2010, Grand Central asked the ORR for permission to run a new service. This service would run four times a day between Blackpool North and London Euston. It would use the West Coast Main Line. The trains would stop at Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham & Wesham, Preston, Hartford, Tamworth, and Nuneaton. Grand Central wanted to start these services in May 2012. They planned to use Class 67 locomotives pulling nine Mark 3 carriages. In March 2011, the ORR rejected this plan. They said the service would mostly take customers away from other train companies, rather than bringing new people to train travel.

A sister company, Great North Western Railway, later asked again for permission for this route. They planned to use London North Eastern Railway InterCity 225 trains. In June 2018, the ORR approved this new plan. It allowed for five direct services from Blackpool North to London Euston for seven years. These services would stop at Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham and Wesham, Preston, Nuneaton, and Milton Keynes Central.

In June 2019, the plans for these services were moved from GNWR to Grand Central. The services were supposed to start in spring 2020. However, they were delayed until spring 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in September 2020, Grand Central announced that they would not go ahead with the service. This was because they expected very few passengers due to the pandemic.

Grand Central Trains

Mark 3 standard class interior

43067 at King's Cross in the original livery in February 2009

When Grand Central first asked for permission in February 2005, they planned to use Class 67 locomotives with five Mark 3 carriages. But they were only allowed to run trains that could go up to 125 miles per hour. So, they had to find different trains. They then thought about using five-carriage Class 222 units. These were similar to trains used by other companies. But it was hard to get these trains. So, Grand Central decided to use High Speed Trains (HSTs) instead.

In October 2006, a sister company bought six Class 43 power cars and 18 Mark 3 carriages. These trains were then sent to be fixed up. The Class 43s were updated, and the Mark 3 carriages were also repaired. It took a long time to get these trains ready. Grand Central could not start services until December 2007. The full set of trains was ready by March 2008.

There were problems with the trains, and sometimes all six power cars were broken at the same time. Because of this, Grand Central had to rent other locomotives and carriages from different companies in summer 2008.

In March 2010, the InterCity 125 trains were sold. This helped pay for a big update to the Class 43 power cars.

To run the fourth Sunderland service, Grand Central rented two Class 180s in 2009. They then rented three more to run the Bradford services in 2010. Before they started running, one of the units, 180112, was named James Herriot. Grand Central got two more Class 180s, making a total of five. The Class 180 trains run on both the Sunderland and Bradford routes. The InterCity 125 trains usually only ran to Sunderland.

Grand Central stopped using its HST trains at the end of 2017. These trains were then moved to another company, East Midlands Trains. Grand Central received five more Class 180 Adelante trains from Great Western Railway (GWR). These became available because GWR was getting new trains.

At first, Grand Central's trains were black with gold and silver doors. When the Class 180s were introduced, an orange stripe was added to the design.

In June 2023, Grand Central announced that it would be renting two Class 221 trains. These trains (numbers 221142 and 221143) are used on services between London King's Cross and Bradford.

In April 2025, Grand Central announced that it had ordered nine new five-car trains from Hitachi Rail. These trains will be able to run using overhead power lines, batteries, or diesel fuel. They are expected to start running in 2028.

Trains Grand Central Uses Now

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
180 Adelante		DMU	125	200	10	5	London King's Cross – Sunderland / Bradford Interchange	2000–2001
221 Super Voyager		DEMU			2	5	London King's Cross - Bradford Interchange	2001-2002

Trains That Were Planned But Cancelled

Grand Central was going to get trains for the Blackpool North to London Euston services. These trains would have had six Mark 4 carriages pulled by a Class 90 locomotive. However, these trains were returned because the route was cancelled. The trains had already been fixed up, and practice runs had started before the service was cancelled in September 2020.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Carriages
			mph	km/h
90		Electric locomotive	110	177	5	2 + 6
Mark 4		Passenger carriage	140	225	30
Driving Van Trailer		Driving Van Trailer			5

Trains Grand Central Used in the Past

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Carriages	Qty.	Routes operated	Built	Left fleet
			mph	km/h
InterCity 125 trains (HSTs)
43		Diesel locomotive	125	201	6	6	London King's Cross – Sunderland	1976-82	2017
Mark 3		Passenger carriage				18

Where Grand Central Trains are Kept and Fixed

Grand Central's trains are looked after and repaired at two main places: Heaton and Crofton depots. Before 2017, when the InterCity 125 trains were still in use, major repairs were done at Arriva TrainCare, Crewe.

Images for kids

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  Grand Central logo

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  Route map

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  Class 180 Adelante train

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  Class 90 locomotive

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  Mark 4 carriage and Driving Van Trailer