UK rail infrastructure manager Network Rail has introduced a major expansion of services on the East Coast Main Line, as part of a wider timetable shake-up.
The East Coast Main Line, which links London with Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland, will see increased services as well as shortened travel time on some key routes.
Network Rail said there would a 46 per cent increase in the number of weekday services between London King’s Cross and Newcastle stations, while journey times between London and Edinburgh will be reduced by 15 minutes to just over four hours. Travel times between London and Newcastle, and from Edinburgh to York will also be reduced by 10 minutes
The expanded timetable will create 60,000 extra seats per week on the East Coast Main Line. The growth in capacity has been made possible by a £4 billion investment programme to improve the line over the past 10 years.
New hourly services on Northern Trains will also be introduced between Leeds and Sheffield, as well as increased TransPennine Express trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley, which will go up to eight trains per day in each direction.
Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s Eastern regional managing director, said: “The industry has been preparing for many years for the new timetable, which will unlock thousands more seats, more frequent trains, and quicker journeys along the East Coast Main Line.
“Our priority now is to continue working together to deliver the long-term benefits of this timetable change, the biggest in over a decade, for our passengers and the communities we serve.”
Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at Rail Delivery Group, added that the new timetable was the “biggest transformation to East Coast Main Line services in more than a decade”.
“This major change represents an important step towards delivering more trains, quicker journeys, and a more resilient railway that continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s customers,” he added.