Alliance Rail

Alliance Rail Holdings is a British company that develops new railway routes in England. The history of Rail Alliance began in 2009, and its official closure is dated 14 February 2023. Its headquarters were located in York. The acting managing director was Richard McClean, who also headed Grand Central.

Year of establishment	22 September 2009
Year of liquidation	14 February 2023
Activities	Development of proposals for passenger rail services in Great Britain; planning of operations through subsidiaries, but without launching regular services
City	(York), Great Britain
Address	Northern House, Rougier Street, York, YO1 6HZ
Proposals accepted	Approved right of open access for 5 return journeys per day between London Euston and Blackpool North (via GNWR), with the subsequent intention to operate the route via Grand Central (approved by ORR in June 2018)
Resubmits plans	Grand Southern (Southampton), GNWR (Blackpool — London Euston)
Rejected bids	Grand Southern Railway — London–Southampton service (rejected by ORR in August 2018); • Great North Eastern Railway — several routes on the East Coast Main Line, rejected between 2010 and 2016
Members	Richard McClean, Chris Hanks, Jonathan Cooper
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Resubmits plans

During its operation, the company had successfully developed routes. In the following section, we will consider one of them: Great North Western Railway

Alliance Rail Blackpool to London

The company was part of Arriva UK Trains. The Rail Alliance developed projects through its subsidiaries: Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR) and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Its plans included the launch of new passenger rail routes in England, primarily in the form of open-access services, i.e. not part of the state franchising system.

Alliance Rail carried out economic modelling and approved timetables, submitting them for review to the Office of Rail & Road (ORR) — the body that oversees the activities of British railways — in order to obtain the right to operate tracks and launch new services. Some of its projects were ultimately approved, while others were rejected.

As part of its activities, Rail Alliance proposed a number of projects related to the launch of new passenger rail routes. For example, the company received permission from the ORR to launch up to five daily return services between London Euston and Blackpool North (the route ran via the West Coast Main Line). This meant 2,630 additional seats in both directions every day, promising financial benefits and comfort for passengers.

In autumn 2019, high-class electric trains with a locomotive and six carriages, including first-class and buffet carriages, were to be put into service. This would have created around 90 jobs in the North West of England.

The route included stops at the following stations:

1. Poulton-le-Fylde.
2. Kirkham and Wesham.
3. Preston.
4. Nuneaton.
5. Milton Keynes Central.
6. Blackpool North ↔ London Euston (terminus stations).

The new service was intended to provide passengers with more choice and better travel conditions, stimulate demand for rail travel, and set competitive prices. However, the plans underwent several changes, and the project went through various stages of approval and route adjustments. The deadlines were constantly being pushed back, and in the end, even the approved projects were not fully implemented.

Rejected proposals

Unfortunately, not all initiatives were approved by the regulatory authorities. Below is a list of projects that were rejected during the review or approval stage and could not be implemented.

Alliance Rail Southampton (Grand Southern Railway)

The Rail Alliance encountered problems with the approval of a project for access to railway tracks for the introduction of trains on the Southampton Central and London Waterloo route. The British railway regulatory authority rejected the application received from the developer. The idea of launching up to 18 trains a day with faster routes, reducing the load on other trains and allowing rail travel at more affordable prices with advance booking, did not find favour with the ORR.

Alliance Rail Holdings received guidance from the authority on what data was required to improve the chances of the new application being approved. The company intended to discuss these comments with the regulator and continue working on plans to introduce new rail services. Alliance Rail was confident that these would bring many benefits to passengers and local communities.

Great North Eastern Railway

Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) often features in discussions of Alliance Rail Holdings' projects. This is one of the routes on which the company planned to launch its services on the East Coast Main Line, the main railway line from London King's Cross northwards towards York, North-East England and Scotland.

Under the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) brand, Alliance planned to create open-access services with its own trains, capable of operating independently of state or franchise operators. In the first half of the 2010s, applications were submitted to launch high-speed trains between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, using modern trains and reducing travel time.

Please note! It is important not to confuse this Alliance Rail Holdings project with the historic Great North Eastern Railway, which actually existed as a real operator from 1996 to 2007. It operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on routes between London King's Cross, Yorkshire, North-East England and Scotland until it withdrew and transferred its rights to another operator at the end of 2007.

Rail Alliance members

Rail Alliance is England's largest B2B network and community of companies, bringing together organisations from different parts of the rail industry and related sectors. Members of this network work together to share experiences, develop their businesses, find partners, participate in industry events and strengthen their market positions in the rail sector and related supply chains. The network includes a wide range of participants, from suppliers and contractors to technology and consulting companies.

Organisations of any size can become members.

Richard McClean – Acting Managing Director

Richard McClean is the director of Alliance Rail Holdings and has also held management positions at Grand Central Rail. He has extensive experience in the rail transport sector. He specialises in operational management, strategic planning, licensing and negotiations.

Chris Hanks – Head of Development

Chris Hanks is responsible for project development, strategic planning and preparing new company initiatives, including developing proposals and liaising with key partners.

Jonathan Cooper – Head of Contracts & Compliance

Jonathan Cooper oversees contract activities and compliance with approved requirements. The organisation monitors compliance with regulatory standards, manages contracts and ensures regulatory control.

What is happening with Alliance Rail Holdings now?

Alliance Rail Holdings is no longer an active company; its operations have been officially terminated. The liquidation date is 14 February 2023. The company has been removed from the Great Britain register of legal entities.

Why is the company not operating?

One of the main reasons for the company's closure is that it never launched regular passenger services. The plans were ambitious, but they failed to materialise. Alliance Rail Holdings even received several permits to implement some of its projects, but did not proceed with regular passenger transfers.

Many ideas were rejected by regulators or implemented by other companies. Alliance Rail ceased operations, partly due to disagreements with the British rail regulator (ORR). The Office of Rail & Road rejected a large number of the company's applications for access to tracks or demanded a number of significant changes.

Among the rejected projects was a route connecting London and Southampton, as well as other destinations.

In many cases, the technology that the developer planned to use was not available. The company frequently changed its route plans and revised its strategies. It was unable to commence sustainable operations. Even approved projects, such as Blackpool–London, did not result in the actual launch of trains by Alliance.

The company was legally closed in February 2023. It ceased to exist as a legal entity, and its account with Companies House Great Britain was closed.