As the East Coast Main Line gears up for its most significant timetable expansion in more than ten years, teams working out of sight in depots across the network are stepping up their efforts to keep trains running smoothly. With thousands of additional services soon to be introduced, engineers and maintenance crews are working round the clock to ensure every train leaves the depot clean, well-maintained and ready for service.

LNER currently operates 65 Azuma trains and eight InterCity 225 sets, all of which are looked after by engineering teams from Northern at the specialist train care depots in Heaton, Newcastle, and Neville Hill, Leeds. Their work underpins the major uplift due to arrive on Sunday 14 December 2025, when LNER will introduce 10,000 extra services a year, cut London–Edinburgh journey times to just over four hours and add 60,000 seats to the East Coast Main Line each week.

Delivering that scale of expansion requires more trains to be in traffic every day, placing new pressures on depots to keep availability high. Maintenance teams have been adapting working practices, rethinking processes and creating additional capacity to ensure the fleet remains reliable when the new timetable goes live. At Neville Hill, engineers continue to support the near-40-year-old InterCity 225 sets, fitting new wheelsets and overhauled gearboxes to maximise their performance. Heaton depot, meanwhile, has undergone infrastructure upgrades including improved lighting and new walkways, alongside the recruitment of extra staff to meet demand.

Linda Wain, Engineering Director at LNER, said:

“Huge timetable changes like the one coming up in December don’t just happen. We have been working more closely than ever with our colleagues at Hitachi to make sure that our fleet of Azuma trains are maintained and ready for operation, preparing to carry thousands of customers to destinations across our almost thousand-mile route each day. LNER and Hitachi colleagues have been coming up with creative and innovative solutions to meet the extra services, and we continue to develop new ways of working that will further enhance maintenance work and keep the availability of the fleet high.”

Raj Basi, Northern’s engineering director, said:

“Our engineering team works meticulously to clean, maintain, and repair more than 370 trains in our fleet, ensuring we can deliver over 2,600 reliable services a day across the North of England. In addition to our own fleet, the team supports LNER throughout the year, keeping their trains in optimal condition, and in recent months we have been working diligently to prepare for the December timetable change. We’re confident these improvements will make a meaningful difference for customers, providing extra services, faster journeys, and more seats to meet growing demand while maintaining strong collaborative partnerships across the industry.”

Image: LNER