LNER is welcoming the announcement of a transformational industry timetable for its East Coast route.
The new timetable will see extra services between Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London King’s Cross, as well as faster journey times between Edinburgh and London, cutting travel time between the two capitals to close to four hours.
Developed through collaboration between Network Rail, train operators and the Department for Transport, the ambitious timetable will introduce an extra 16,000 seats per day on LNER services – around six million seats per year.
In particular, the transformational timetable will see LNER services increase from two trains to three trains per hour between Newcastle and London King’s Cross.
As a result, from December 2025 there will be 37 additional LNER services each weekday and more at the weekend too.
LNER hopes faster journeys between Edinburgh and London of around four-hours – coupled with increased public appetite to cut climate emissions – could see rail’s share of the travel market between the capital cities rise to 60 per cent.
The benefit will also be felt by the UK economy, with independent research showing the December 2025 uplift will mean at least an additional £108 million per year, on top of the £3.11 billion that investment and spending on LNER services already generates for the UK economy.
The December 2025 timetable builds on the additional services between Bradford Forster Square and London King’s Cross, planned for May 2025, during the year Bradford will be UK City of Culture. LNER weekday and Saturday services will increase from two to seven from May 2025. Sunday services will double from one to two in each direction, with further future enhancements planned.
David Horne, managing director at LNER, said: “This transformational timetable will guarantee thousands of extra seats each day on the East Coast route, cutting journey times and providing much needed capacity.
“With this new timetable, we’ll be able to serve many destinations more regularly and contribute at least an additional £108 million per year of economic value to the UK, while supporting greener and more sustainable journeys.
“We’re delighted to be kick-starting the transformation of our timetable by significantly increasing services to Bradford from May 2025, in what will be a very special year for the city and wider area.”
Image credit: LNER
