The concept arose in 2004, when Renaissance Trains entered negotiations with Network Rail for track access rights in order to operate services between the Glasgow, North West England and East Midlands.
During the development of the business case, it was determined that running the Nottingham services via the Settle & Carlisle line and Leeds was a more viable alternative.
[6] In March 2008 Renaissance Trains stated it was hoping to start Glasgow to Liverpool services in December 2008 having identified three 100 mph paths in each direction on the West Coast Main Line with stops at Carlisle, Oxenholme, Preston and St Helens.
[9] The proposal did not appear to proceed any further, with no evidence of an application having been lodged with the Office of Rail Regulation until in 2014, the Renaissance Trains website was update to say that the project had been revived.
It also cited "the slowdown in the national economy from 2008" as the reason why the project had initially been abandoned, due to the inability to "attract investment backing.