Rail operator Lumo announces date of first trains serving Milton Keynes on London-Stirling service

The railway operator Lumo has announced it will begin running trains via Milton Keynes later this month on a route between London and Scotland.

Lumo will be running its first trains between London Euston and Stirling from 25 May 2026, which will add to the operator’s pre-existing services running between London King’s Cross, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The new service will call at Milton Keynes Central station en-route, with trains also stopping at Nuneaton, Crewe, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert stations.

Lumo’s service plan will see it start by running 1 train a day in each direction, before building up to a full service plan of 4 trains per day in both directions as well as one morning train from Preston to London and one evening train from London to Preston.

The announcement came in an event that saw Lumo partner with Stirling Pride to give away special ‘golden tickets’ to lucky winners in the Scottish city. Award-winning drag queen Cherry West, who is starring in this year’s festival in August, surprised people with a chance to travel to London on the pioneering new low-cost service.

Stuart Jones, Managing Director of First Rail Open Access, said in a statement that they were excited to launch the trains.

Jones said, “This is a very exciting moment in our journey to launching a pioneering new service for the West Coast. Customers can look forward to simple, low-cost fares with an excellent experience on our services between Scotland, the North West of England and London.

“I’m very proud that we’re already forging some meaningful connections in the communities on the route. Thank you to the team at Stirling Pride for helping us to reveal the news of our official start date in true Lumo style, by giving people in the city a chance to join us on a journey very soon.”

Scott McMurray, Co-founder of Stirling Pride, said, “Stirling is buzzing about the arrival of Lumo in the city later this month, so it’s amazing to see the team already proudly standing alongside LGBTQ+ events like ours. We loved teaming up with

“Lumo to announce their official launch date in style and also give a taste of this year’s Pride celebrations in the city!”

The operator will use a fleet of renovated Class 222 trains, which have been revamped in preparation for the launch of the route.

Steve Harvey, Services Director UK and Ireland at Alstom, said, “Alstom is proud to help Lumo launch its new West Coast service through our refurbishment programme of their Class 222 fleet. Our focus remains on providing refreshed trains that are reliable, welcoming and ready to serve passengers from day one.

“Seeing Lumo announce its arrival through such positive community partnerships reflects the values we share around inclusion, accessibility and putting customers first.”

Lumo has been in operation since 2021, with the operator running an open access rail service on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Proposals to launch additional services between Stirling and Euston had first been proposed by Grand Central, who were set to run services under the Grand Union moniker after receiving approval in 2024 before the company sold their rights to Lumo’s parent company First Group last year.