London North Eastern Railway has carried out further testing of a potential diversionary route via the Midland Main Line, as it explores ways to maintain services during major engineering work affecting the East Coast Main Line.

Using a nine-car bi-mode Azuma train, unit 800104 departed Leeds and left the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster, before joining the Midland Main Line at Chesterfield. The train then called at Leicester, Kettering, Wellingborough, and Bedford before making a northbound return journey, stopping at the same stations.

London North Eastern Railway teams conducted safety and validation checks at each location. The trial follows a similar test in March 2025, when an Azuma operated to London St Pancras, with the latest exercise assessing the feasibility of intermediate station calls on the diversionary route. 

“We know that engineering work can be disruptive for customers when they want to travel. This viability work is crucial in understanding whether we can provide customers with an alternative option to travel, staying onboard trains.

“It has been good to carry out this additional test train after previously running down the Midland Main Line last year. These things take time, but we’ll continue to work with our partners in the industry to further understand whether we may be able to run trains on diversion routes with customers onboard in the future.”

Gunnar Lindahl, Joint Operations Director for LNER and Network Rail.