Train operator East Coast ran two extra cross-border services last night as flights recovered from disruption caused by ash from an erupting Icelandic volcano.
East Coast Commercial Director Peter Williams said:
“We have seen a marked increase in passenger numbers between Edinburgh and London this week, with almost 5,000 extra passengers on our trains on Tuesday alone. As flights to and from Scottish airports were cancelled, thousands of people turned to the train.
“The extra passengers came just as we launched our new timetable, which offers almost 11,000 extra seats every weekday. The extra capacity has helped us to carry many more passengers and provide a replacement for the cancelled flights.
“We are also providing additional services to and from Edinburgh this evening to help to clear any remaining backlog of passengers on the Anglo-Scottish route.”
East Coast also has additional capacity available on its route this weekend, in case of any renewed travel problems affecting parallel flights.
East Coast’s new timetable has added extra capacity to the route, including an additional 1,600 seats on Saturday and 5,400 seats on Sunday. A near normal weekday service will run on Bank Holiday Monday, again offering significant extra capacity.
The new timetable has created 13 additional Saturday services and 9 additional Sunday services. Frequency between London and Edinburgh has also been increased, adding seven extra services on Saturdays and five more services on Sundays.
The East Coast Main Line is fully clear of engineering work throughout the weekend. East Coast is also preparing to operate additional services on Saturday, if needed.
The additional services follow the addition of thousands of extra seats to the East Coast route following this week’s launch of the operator’s new timetable.
