THE Arriva Group has submitted a track application to the Office of Rail and Road to begin a new direct service between Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Brighton via Gatwick Airport.
Their plan is for five trains per day under the Grand Central banner, the company’s established open access operator, which could be begin from December 2026. Routing for the proposed service is Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street, Warwick Parkway, Banbury, Oxford, Reading, Wokingham, Guildford, Redhill, London Gatwick, Haywards Heath and Brighton.
Part of that route mirrors that of the ‘Sussex Scot’ service between Glasgow and Brighton, which dates from the 1980s. It was later rerouted via Manchester Piccadilly, before being cut back to a Manchester-Brighton service in Sept 2002. The service ceased completely in 2008…