Il-Lumo-nating the way for cheaper travel

It is no secret that train prices are often more than we’d like them to be, with mainland UK’s privatization of public transport leading to price hikes on an annual basis. Hoping to address the need for affordable rail transport, electric train company Lumo is launching its very first journey on the East Coast Main Line on October 25^th.

Lumo will compete with fellow companies LNER and East Coast for passengers travelling from King’s Cross in London to Waverly in Edinburgh. While Lumo hopes to reduce the time of the journey by having a minimal amount of stops, it will stop in Newcastle (as well as Stevenage and Morpeth). This will be great news for students of Newcastle and Northumbria University, making the popular city of Edinburgh a more feasible location for day trips.

So, how much does it cost? As with all train lines, Lumo’s prices will fluctuate based on destinations, time of bookings, and time of departure. That being said, 60% of all single fares will cost below £30, with London to Newcastle prices starting from as low as £14.90. Additionally, Lumo has given a guarantee that all single fares before the 1^st December will cost £19.90 or less, so long as they are booked at least the day before.

The average full journey (London-Edinburgh) will take four and a half hours, which is slightly longer than the competitors’ average, while there will initially be two trains each way daily; Lumo expects to increase this to five with the future procuring of more trains. Though the duration is longer and the initial departure time flexibility is lower than its competitors, Lumo’s commitment to affordability and reducing carbon emissions should be enough to garner support of the masses.

While it may be too good to be true in the long run – private companies often cut back in tough times – Lumo’s ethos is at least a sign that we can have better.