Virgin Trains is planning to launch a new rail service between London and Liverpool after its existing franchise is withdrawn.
Fares would be "at least 10 per cent cheaper" than those offered by competitors and passengers would be guaranteed a seat, the company claims.
Virgin Trains hopes to generate around £50 million of revenue each year running an hourly service for most of the day between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street, calling at Lichfield, Tamworth, Nuneaton and Liverpool South Parkway.
This would be in direct competition with whoever wins the West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise, which will include West Coast Main Line and HS2 services.
The operator has forwarded an application to launch its open access service from May 2012 - 14 months after its current West Coast Main Line franchise is due to expire.
Virgin Trains - owned by Virgin Group (51 per cent) and Stagecoach (49per cent) - has run services on the West Coast route since 1997.
But its latest bid was disqualified by the Department for Transport (DfT) in a dispute over pensions.
Most rail services in Britain are contracted through franchises, but a handful of firms including Grand Central, Heathrow Express and Hull Trains run competing open access services.
Applications for permission to launch non-franchised services are considered by rail regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which says they must generate extra demand rather than simply take revenue away from incumbent operators.
Virgin Trains' managing director Phil Whittingham said the firm has "led the UK rail industry for 22 years" with measures such as digital ticketing and scrapping Friday night peak restrictions.
He went on: "We want to go further. These new services will allow us to take the customer experience on the UK's railways to the next level and show the rest of the industry how it can be done."
An ORR spokesman said it will consider the application "in line with our open access policy".
The initiative involves Virgin Group, Stagecoach, French state-owned operator SNCF and train manufacturer Alstom.
