Back in March the FirstGroup submitted a formal track access rights application to the Office of Rail and Road to operate a low-cost rail service between London and Edinburgh.

They are expecting to be able to offer an average fare below £25 and many tickets would be cheaper still.

This is FirstGroup’s attempt to compete with low-cost carriers and will offer five trains throughout the day each way between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via intermediate stations at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth, and with journey times of around four hours.

In addition to the low fares offered, passengers would benefit from free wifi and on-board catering, all offered in one high-quality class of travel on brand new, state of the art trains.

The planned first service of the day would arrive in Edinburgh by 10am, designed specifically to attract the business travelers who would usually fly. This arrival time is an hour earlier than the first available train today.

If successful with the application FirstGroup plans to introduce the brand new, state of the art electric intercity trains from 2018.

If the plans are accepted by the Office of Rail and Road it will shake up travel options between these cities and surely pave the way for further applications.

In France, meanwhile, a similar set-up is already in operation, with SNCF launching Ouigo.

It is a service with numerous similarities to no-frills carriers, not least that trains depart from Marne-la-Vallée, almost 20 miles away from central Paris – a scenario reminiscent of the budget airlines’ strategy to use airports away from city centres.

Services connect Paris to Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier on the south coast, with significantly cheaper tickets than the normal TGV train.

The operation is proving a moderate success and could be a sign of things to come in the UK.