East Coast Main Line Sees Biggest Timetable Overhaul in a Decade from 14 December
Passengers on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) are being urged to plan ahead as the biggest timetable overhaul in more than a decade comes into effect on Sunday 14 December. The changes form part of a wider network-wide update, reflecting more than £4 billion invested over the past ten years to modernise the line and boost capacity.
Journey planners, including National Rail Enquiries, are now up to date with the new schedules, helping passengers identify the best routes and book advance tickets. The revamped timetable promises more trains, thousands of extra seats each day, and faster journeys, improving connectivity between Yorkshire, the North East, Scotland, and London.
Among the key changes are additional Sunday services by LNER between Bradford Forster Square and London King’s Cross, the ability for all passing services operated by Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, and CrossCountry to call at the new Cambridge South station in summer 2026, and a new hourly fast service by Northern between Leeds and Sheffield. TransPennine Express will also see increased services between Newcastle and Edinburgh, while East Midlands Railway doubles its trains between Nottingham and Lincoln, providing thousands of extra weekly seats.
Overall, the new timetable will add more than 60,000 extra seats each week, including faster journeys from London to Edinburgh in just over four hours and London to Leeds in just over two hours. While most services will launch in December 2025, some will be phased in during 2026 to ensure a smooth introduction.
Simon Leyshon, industry programme director at Network Rail, said:
“The new timetable will unlock thousands more seats, more frequent trains, and quicker journeys along the East Coast Main Line - setting us on the right path to provide further journey improvements in the future. With changes to journey times and train patterns, please plan ahead and check before you travel by visiting National Rail Enquiries and journey planners for the latest updates.”
The December 2025 timetable will also bring improvements across other parts of the rail network. Avanti West Coast will run more services from London Euston, including additional trains to Liverpool. Independent operators such as Grand Central, Hull Trains, and Lumo will introduce new services, including a planned Stirling to London Euston route. Transport for Wales will increase service frequency between Chester and Wrexham, expand the Heart of Wales line timetable, and introduce its first-ever Sunday service to Coryton
Image: Network Rail