Times are Changing on the East Coast as LNER Gears Up for Timetable Transformation

Departure times will be changing for services across the route in the biggest transformation in more than a decade following strong passenger growth in recent years. For LNER customers, the timetable will see nearly 10,000 new services per year and more than 60,000 extra seats across the route each week*, meaning faster and more comfortable journeys, and 21 per cent more LNER trains to and from London King’s Cross per weekday.  

There will be an increase in services from five LNER trains to six trains per hour each way across most of the day. The timetable sees an additional 32 LNER services to and from London King’s Cross each weekday from December, with more services to follow in 2026. Extra services will also be introduced on weekends.  

As part of the uplift, an extra hourly train will operate between Newcastle, York and London, providing more seats on the busiest part of the route and freeing up capacity on other services. 

An hourly fast service between Edinburgh and London King’s Cross will cut journey times to around four hours ten minutes.  

The December 2025 timetable has been developed through extensive collaboration with Network Rail, train operators and the Department for Transport, with experts using cutting-edge technology to work through numerous simulations of the timetable to help refine the plan.  

The transformation is a result of £4 billion invested on the East Coast Main Line over the past decade across track and train and has been developed to meet the needs of the greatest number of customers. 

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “The new timetable will enable us to serve many destinations more frequently and guarantee thousands of extra seats each day where they are needed most, providing customers with more choice when it comes to more sustainable journeys.   

“LNER has recruited hundreds of additional colleagues, from drivers to onboard crews and station teams, in readiness for the major change. As an industry, we’ve been preparing for many years, and we continue to work together to deliver the biggest timetable change in more than a decade for our customers and communities.” 

The 60,000 extra seats per week the new timetable will deliver is enough to fill either Newcastle United’s St James’ Park or the Emirates Stadium in London, almost fill Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, or York Minster 30 times over.  

Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy said: “Through more seats, more trains and faster journeys, this new timetable will see the biggest increase to intercity services along the route in a decade and will unlock growth along the whole of the East Coast Main Line. 

“Growing capacity and improving passenger experience will encourage more people to choose rail, boosting the economy and delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.” 

Paul Rutter, Route Director, East Coast Route, Network Rail, speaking on behalf of the rail industry, said: “The new December 2025 timetable will unlock thousands more seats, more frequent trains, and quicker journeys along the East Coast Main Line. Our priority now as an industry is to reliably deliver this transformative timetable in December, setting us on the right path to provide further journey improvements in the future for the passengers and communities we serve.”  

Independent research shows the new timetable will also bring significant benefits for the economy, generating at least an additional £105 million per year, on top of the £3.11 billion that investment and spending on LNER services already delivers.  

On average, travelling by LNER trains produces 14 times less carbon dioxide than flying and seven times less carbon dioxide than driving.** Coupled with increased public appetite to cut carbon emissions, LNER hopes quicker journey times between London and Edinburgh will encourage even more people to choose to travel by rail.  

This is the biggest timetable change in more than a decade, with the majority of new services starting in December. A small number of services will be introduced in a phased way between December and spring 2026. This phasing will help with the efficient introduction of the new timetable.  

LNER will be holding a series of customer roadshows at a number of stations over the next few months to share further information about the changes.  

Further details about the full December 2025 timetable, including station by station information, can be found here.