LNER has announced its largest timetable change in over a decade, promising more trains, more seats and faster journeys from December.
A major new industry timetable is to be introduced for the East Coast Main Line, and departure times will change in response to the increase in passenger numbers in recent years.
Most of the new services with start in December, with a small number of services to be introduced in a phased way between December and spring 2026.
The new timetable will include almost 10,000 new services per year, with an increase of more than 60,000 in the number of seats available across the route each week.
32 more LNER trains will run to and from London King’s Cross on each weekday, representing an increase of 21 per cent.
Having increased seats and reduced journey time in last year’s new timetable, this year’s will see more improvements. Highlights of the new timetable include:
- six rather than five LNER trains running each hour in each direction during most of the day.
- extra services on weekends
- an additional train running each hour between Newcastle, York and London, the busiest part of the route
- a fast service operating between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross, with a shorter journey time of around four hours ten minutes.
LNER has worked with other train operators, Network Rail, train operators and the Department for Transport to develop the timetable. Experts used cutting-edge technology to create and consider numerous simulations of the timetable, which helped them to refine the plan.
LNER asserts that the improved services are the result of the £4 billion invested in the East Coast Main Line over the past decade.
The operator also points out that the 60,000 extra seats per week that the new timetable will deliver is enough to fill either Newcastle United’s St James’ Park or the Emirates Stadium in London, almost fill Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, or fill York Minster thrice over.
It claims that independent research shows the new timetable will bring significant economic benefits, as it will generate at least £105 million per year, in addition to the £3.11 billion benefit that investment in LNER services already delivers.
LNER will be holding a series of ‘roadshows’ at stations over the next few months, which will enable it to share further information about the changes.
“The new timetable will enable us to serve many destinations more frequently and guarantee thousands of extra seats each day where they are needed most, providing customers with more choice when it comes to more sustainable journeys.
“LNER has recruited hundreds of additional colleagues, from drivers to onboard crews and station teams, in readiness for the major change. As an industry, we’ve been preparing for many years, and we continue to work together to deliver the biggest timetable change in more than a decade for our customers and communities.”
David Horne, Managing Director at LNER
Responses
It would be nice if LNER were to introduce more new services including to Scarborough using Class 800 Azumas. Rather than having to change at York and to use TransPennine Express to Scarborough. And also LNER to run a new service to Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes.
Faster connections between end-points usually equates to fewer intermediate stops – potential challenges for interconnecting rail operators.
More trains running, especially if pathing covers the stops missed by the faster services is a good mitigation.
Does “dynamic pricing” come into this – bit of a myth really, as it costs the same to run the service regardless of numbers, so “dynamic pricing” is a way to charge more for seats – nobody independently has proved that it helps manage passenger numbers on services.
Have they planned in disruption factors – the most common one being local services having issues with the overhead lines, causing network shutdowns between Alexandra Palace and Peterborough?
Any chance of re-instating direct services London to Inverness and Aberdeen? Used to be 3 trains per day, then 1, now none.
Well done. I sincerely hope ST Pancres is not going to be a London Destination. Why is the time from Edinburgh not closer to 4hr it is possible and would be highly valued by the passengers.
Why no prices for the trvel this is of paramount inportance to the customers? Again well done and all the best.