2025 ECML timetable agreement reached

A breakthrough in the East Coast Mainline (ECML) 2025 timetable is close with details expected to be announced later this month by the Department for Transport (DfT).

The long-awaited timetable change which was initally reported by the Sunday Times, has been deadlocked since phase one of East Coast Main Line’s Power Supply upgrade was completed in 2022 as various operators wrangled with the DfT and Network Rail over access to the new slots as well as delays to upgrades further delaying progress on the new timetable.

One of the biggest winners of the new timetable could be LNER with its application to begin a fast train every hour between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley expected to be given the go-ahead. The promise of a 4-hour train journey between the two capitals was originally planned and announced when the Class 801 Azuma’s were in production eight years ago but has suffered setbacks due to infrastructure upgrades. The service, will stop only at Newcastle and York, and miss stops at Berwick, Durham and Peterborough. 

LNER told RAIL that it expects the journeys to take just over 4 hours, with the extra power supply on the East Coast Mainline allowing the Azuma’s to accelerate faster out of stations. Although there are aspirations from Network Rail and LNER for trains to travel at up to speeds of 140 miles per hour, this is not expected to happen at the beginning of the new services or until further upgrades have been completed on the line.

An LNER spokesperson said: “Our aspirations remain to run more frequent and faster trains with some services between Edinburgh and London being around four hours in journey time. Future timetables are still being finalised and any updates will be shared in due course.”

LNER expects a journey to be closer to 4 hours 10 minutes rather than the current 4 hours 32 minutes.

Open access operator, Hull Trains is expected to have its respective applications approved by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), paving the way for its new services to commence.

FirstGroup which owns both Hull Trains and East Coast Main Line operator Lumo will launch “Sheffield by Hull Trains” running two daily return journeys via Worksop and Retford before joining the ECML. The journey is expected to take two hours.

Lumo will also run a sixth daily return service between Newcastle and London as part of the timetable agreement.

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director for Lumo said: “Lumo and Hull Trains welcome the agreement of the new timetable for the East Coast Mainline, following a lot of cross-industry work which we have been involved with. The key is ensuring that the new timetable plan can robustly deliver punctual and reliable services for rail users.”

There will also be better connections between Bradford and the capital with LNER operating a two-hourly service, adding an extra five trains a day to its schedule. However, it is understood that for the services to commence, the original stipulation in the company’s application that Bradford Forster Square station’s new platform will have to be completed, still applies. That is not expected to be before May 2025.

However, the added services will add extra strain to the ECML, with freight expected to be one of the losers in the timetable shake-up. The ECML currently has operators running fast freight and express services on the line and Network Rail has been making improvements to increase capacity alongside its digitalisation programme to aid freight. However, issues with the original timetable put to the industry last year had left little space for freight once all the passenger trains had been added. It left little wiggle room in the timetable for some of the most complicated freight services.

It is understood that some of these issues have been rectified.