Number of direct trains from London to Blackpool will more than double from next spring

A German Railways subsidiary will run five trains a day from London Euston

Blackpool's beach will be more easily accessible from 2020 (iStock)

Blackpool and the Fylde peninsula will be better connected by rail from spring 2020 as the number of direct trains each day will more than double.

The “open-access” operator Grand Central will run five trains a day each way between London Euston and Lancashire’s premier resort.

The services will use the West Coast main line, calling at Milton Keynes Central and Nuneaton en route to Preston.

The train will then serve Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde before terminating at Blackpool North. The full journey will take just over three hours.

At present there are four direct Virgin Trains between London and Blackpool North, taking as little as 2h 44m.

As with its services on the East Coast main line, Grand Central aims to bring lower fares – especially at peak times, when a one-way Anytime ticket costs £180 between London and Blackpool.

The stop in Preston will also appeal to budget-minded travellers who are prepared to take 20 or 30 minutes longer than the current journey. The Anytime fare from London is just 50p cheaper than to Blackpool.

Grand Central is part of Arriva, itself a subsidiary of the German rail giant, Deutsche Bahn.

The original application from Arriva envisaged a new operator, Great North Western Railway. But the service have been transferred to the established operator, and sister Arriva company, Grand Central.

Richard McClean, managing director of Grand Central, said: “We will bring our operational expertise and industry-leading customer service to this new route, offering more choice for existing rail users and new opportunities for people to travel by train.

“For more than a decade, we have been dedicated to making travel affordable and enjoyable for people in the North East and across Yorkshire. This new chapter opens up these opportunities to the other side of the Pennines.”

The incumbent operator, Virgin Trains, has been disqualified from continuing its West Coast franchise beyond early 2020.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the train operator “decided to repeatedly ignore established rules by rejecting the commercial terms on offer”.

But Patrick McCall, senior partner at Virgin Group, said:“The DfT has ignored this track record and instead focused on which bidder is reckless enough to take on various unquantifiable risks, such as pensions.”

Virgin Trains is taking legal action against the decision. Meanwhile it has applied for permission to run open-access services between London and Liverpool.