December 2025 East Coast Timetable

[Halish Railway]

A few thoughts:
• I think it can be assumed that the Lincoln and York services will be five carriage Azumas.
• Won’t the xx:40 from Kings Cross to Leeds/Harrogate catch up to the xx:33 to Newcastle at Grantham?
• Leeds services calling at Newark is a positive development.
• I’m not sure how workable having 2 LNER per hour plus open access operators skipping Doncaster every hour is.
• I’m assuming that the southbound departure time from Leeds for XC services will be moved to xx:15 which is made workable by taking out the pathing allowances between Moorthorpe and Meadowhall. Will be interesting to see what the dwell time at Leeds will be.
• Durham’s ECML connectivity seems to be very dependent on XC services. They will be the only operator towards Edinburgh and Doncaster.

So an unofficial +5 connection onto the xx:26 Skipton

A pity it isn't kept at xx:03 off The Cross, making it a legitimate +12

But the Airedale line should gain the opportunity to change onto LNER services every two hours at Shipley.

Thanks, although this is quite different to some of another post I saw e.g. one London to Leeds would be fast to Doncaster and the other Leeds service fast from Peterborough to Wakefield, or did I misunderstand? Also Lincoln would be alternating with the additional Leeds/Harrogate service not York which I assume was being replaced by the Newcastle semi-fast. All in all, Retford only seems to get one train every 2 hours as well?

That was an old plan dating back to 2019 and required an extra path every two hours for LNER and presumably bombarding other operators’ services to get the mix of super-fast and stopping trains to work.

 

[Bikeman78]

But there’ll be +12 connections on to the xx:03 and xx:33 Ilkley trains which I’m sure is all the powers-that-be would care about.
Just as the Skipton services into the evening stop at KLF and APY whereas, to my mind, the Ilkeys should call at KLF and the Skiptons at APY.

I find it strange that some trains don't stop at the new stations on those routes.

 

[swt_passenger]

How spread out are the Manors services (Morpeth and one of the Ashington ones) scheduled to be?

Why would it matter? I don’t think anybody is going to be looking for a neatly spaced Newcastle to Manors service, it’s really about departures from Manors heading north. They’re about 10-15 mins apart from next week, but I wonder if anyone even has the times yet for Dec 2025?

As they’re separate routes it won’t cause any issues if they’re close together on the clockface.

 

[A S Leib]

Why would it matter? I don’t think anybody is going to be looking for a neatly spaced Newcastle to Manors service, it’s about departures from Manors heading north. As they’re separate routes it won’t cause any issues if they’re close together on the clockface.

I'm asking out of curiosity.

 

[Route115?]

Will there be good connections at Edinburgh into Aberdeen trains or will trains arrive just after Scotrail trains to Aberdeen depart?

 

[hexagon789]

Will there be good connections at Edinburgh into Aberdeen trains or will trains arrive just after Scotrail trains to Aberdeen depart?

Assuming ScotRail services are unchanged, then they will both miss the Aberdeen departures, yes.

 

[xotGD]

So the train from London to Leeds is accelerated, but using official connections I get home half an hour later.

And if I miss the tight connection I can't claim Delay Repay.

Progress.

 

[Bald Rick]

So the train from London to Leeds is accelerated, but using official connections I get home half an hour later.

But by far the majority of passnegers using the service get there quicker.

 

[xotGD]

But by far the majority of passnegers using the service get there quicker.

Quicker, but later.

 

[D6130]

Quicker, but later.

Time for a quick half in 'Spoons between trains?

 

[Bald Rick]

Quicker, but later.

Or much ealrier, of they choose to get the previosu train of course.

 

[30907]

But by far the majority of passnegers using the service get there quicker.

The Leeds service seems to be 1-2min faster northbound, 3-4min southbound.

BTW it won't connect into the Harrogates either, which might cause comment!

 

[xotGD]

The Leeds service seems to be 1-2min faster northbound, 3-4min southbound.

BTW it won't connect into the Harrogates either, which might cause comment!

A total lack of joined up thinking.

Just imagine such nonsense in Switzerland

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

A total lack of joined up thinking.

Just imagine such nonsense in Switzerland

Not that I’m defending them, but people really should stop comparing us to Switzerland when there’s such big differences between our railways; it’s an apples and oranges situation, for sure.

 

[xotGD]

Not that I’m defending them, but people really should stop comparing us to Switzerland when there’s such big differences between our railways; it’s an apples and oranges situation, for sure.

Breaking connections that currently work, and then claiming it is a timetable improvement, is just treating passengers with contempt.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Breaking connections that currently work, and then claiming it is a timetable improvement, is just treating passengers with contempt.

Completely agree I’m simply mentioning that comparisons with Switzerland somewhat weaken a good argument.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Lord Hendy has said he hopes to have the new East Coast Main Line (ECML) timetable finally resolved soon.

The rail minister appeared at the Transport Select Committee on December 11 where he was asked about the long-awaited change which has been in deadlock since the first phase of the route’s power supply upgrade was completed in 2022.

Last week it was reported that details were expected to be announced by the Department for Transport later this month, with Hendy confirming that he, and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, now have the timetable.

If approved it would come into operation next year.

Explaining the issue with the long-delayed timetable, Hendy told MPs: “One of the reasons for Great British Railways as a body to control the railway is that while Network Rail was responsible for producing the timetable, there was no process by which you could establish what that timetable should be, and hence the difficult about the East Coast Main Line timetable.

“We must do it. The question is whether we’ve got the best balance in an imperfect world about the competing demands of all the train services including freight and open access services that need to use it.

“I’m optimistic we can come to a conclusion to the benefit of all users of the East Coast Main Line.”

He warned there could be an outcome for some that would be “less than optimal”, but was “very hopeful that in the near future we can say what we are going to do about the East Coast for the benefit of all the passengers who use it”.

If approved, it would pave the way for LNER to begin a faster journey between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley, stopping only at Newcastle and York.

LNER has previously told RAIL that it expects the journeys to take four hours ten minutes, 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.

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

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

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

https://www.railmagazine.com/news/2...ng-awaited-new-east-coast-main-line-timetable

First Groups application from London to Sheffield twice daily service and London to Newcastle daily service are approved as part of the timetable.

 

[Clarence Yard]

No, they have not yet been approved. RAIL is guessing.

 

[30907]

Breaking connections that currently work, and then claiming it is a timetable improvement, is just treating passengers with contempt.

Rewriting the ECML (and Thameslink) timetable around Leeds NW is rather putting cart before horse
Admittedly, it was nice when the previous EC timetable improved the connections (both ways) which had been broken since the Leeds NW electrification.

 

[norbitonflyer]

This was the provision timetable, which appears to be being used except some changes to Darlington and Durham calls.

NORTHBOUND off King's Cross

XX:03 - Edinburgh semi-fast. Calling at: Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, ................

XX:10 Leeds. Calling at: Peterborough, Grantham, Doncaster, .............


XX:33 Newcastle semi-fast. Calling at Stevenage, Grantham, York, ............

XX:40 Leeds/Harrogate*. Calling at: Stevenage, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, ................

XX:47 Lincoln (even-hours)/York (odd-hours)
Lincoln services calling at: Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Lincoln (1h53).
York services calling at: Peterborough, Retford, Doncaster, ..................

It would appear that the only way to get from Newark to Retford is by doubling back at Doncaster or Grantham, or going via Lincoln. That can't be right, can it?
(currently 13 minutes direct, c 50 minutes by doubling back, 75 minutes via Lincoln)

 

[A S Leib]

It would appear that the only way to get from Newark to Retford is by doubling back at Doncaster or Grantham, or going via Lincoln. That can't be right, can it?
(currently 13 minutes direct, c 50 minutes by doubling back, 75 minutes via Lincoln)

Monday's direct service is eight trains per day, including gaps of over four hours in the evening; maybe that journey was felt to be too infrequently taken*, and maybe ticket restrictions would change to allow travel via Doncaster / Grantham? It does seem like an oversight when almost every other part has some local service, whether Thameslink or TPE stopper north of Newcastle or to Liverpool.

*~7 passengers per day

 

[norbitonflyer]

Monday's direct service is eight trains per day, including gaps of over four hours in the evening; maybe that journey was felt to be too infrequently taken*, and maybe ticket restrictions would change to allow travel via Doncaster / Grantham? It does seem like an oversight when almost every other part has some local service, whether Thameslink or TPE stopper north of Newcastle or to Liverpool.

*~7 passengers per day

Yes, it seems the provisional timetable has been tweaked so that, at least during daylight hours, there is a train every two hours between the two Nottinghamshire towns. (The York trains running at xx.06 from Kings Cross, odd hours)

 

[Halish Railway]

Yes, it seems the provisional timetable has been tweaked so that, at least during daylight hours, there is a train every two hours between the two Nottinghamshire towns. (The York trains running at xx.06 from Kings Cross, odd hours)

Is that the present xx:06 departure or planned xx:47 departure from Kings Cross? It would seem like a good compromise if so, although I’m not convinced that it’s a better deal for Retford than the present choice of a once per two hours all principle stations LNER service from York to London and roughly once per two hours fast Hull Trains service.

 

[ChrisC]

Having an hourly Newcastle train stopping at Grantham will be useful for passengers travelling north from Nottingham. Currently travelling north from Nottttingham, changing at Grantham, is not very good. Except for the 2 hourly train to York it has been difficult to get direct to anywhere north of Doncaster. I much prefer travelling to Newcastle and Edinburgh via Grantham rather than on an overcrowded XC voyager from Sheffield.

 

[duffield]

Having an hourly Newcastle train stopping at Grantham will be useful for passengers travelling north from Nottingham. Currently travelling north from Nottttingham, changing at Grantham, is not very good. Except for the 2 hourly train to York it has been difficult to get direct to anywhere north of Doncaster. I much prefer travelling to Newcastle and Edinburgh via Grantham on an overcrowded XC voyager from Sheffield.

That's interesting. It seems the connection to the Leeds train off the Norwich bound service from Nottingham will be about 5 minutes (a bit tight** but gives a big journey time improvement), and also around a 10 minute connection off the Skeg service for the Newcastle train. Overall it's a good improvement heading North from Nottingham (and yes, I'm avoiding XC as much as possible too!). I haven't looked at the southbound connections yet...

** Services from Nottingham do sometimes get delayed approaching Grantham waiting for outbound services to clear the platform and the single line junction/approach section

 

[800001]

That's interesting. It seems the connection to the Leeds train off the Norwich bound service from Nottingham will be about 5 minutes (a bit tight** but gives a big journey time improvement), and also around a 10 minute connection off the Skeg service for the Newcastle train. Overall it's a good improvement heading North from Nottingham (and yes, I'm avoiding XC as much as possible too!). I haven't looked at the southbound connections yet...

** Services from Nottingham do sometimes get delayed approaching Grantham waiting for outbound services to clear the platform and the single line junction/approach section

Where is the December 2025 published ?

 

[JRT]

The Leeds service seems to be 1-2min faster northbound, 3-4min southbound.

BTW it won't connect into the Harrogates either, which might cause comment!

The plan is for the Harrogate line to be retimed similar to the present Sunday times each hour during the day, 06 & 36 ex Leeds (a 15-min connection). It was in a document but I can't remember what.

 

[Halish Railway]

The plan is for the Harrogate line to be retimed similar to the present Sunday times each hour during the day, 06 & 36 ex Leeds (a 15-min connection). It was in a document but I can't remember what.

I'm assuming that this is necessary to ensure that the stopping trains are flighted behind the LNER services to Harrogate. One other point about the connection onto Skipton and Ilkley services is that these may have to be retimed given the changes to LNER and Northern's departure times towards Harrogate.

 

[duffield]

Where is the December 2025 published ?

I don't know, I just worked out the Nottingham connections at Grantham based on a post earlier in this thread (link below), assuming 1h5m from Kings Cross to Grantham and assuming the Nottingham to Grantham services are unchanged. These assumptions might be wrong, it was just to get an idea of what was likely to be possible.

December 2025 East Coast Timetable

I believe it is (I may be very wrong here and others may know better) LNER 1tph KGX - YRK - NCL - EDB 1tph KGX - PBO - DON - YRK - DAR - DHM - NCL - BWK - EDB + extensions to ABD/INV 1tph (KGX Semi-Fast) YRK - NTR - DAR - DHM - NCL 0.5tph (KGX all stops) YRK - TBY - MBR TPE 1tph (LIV) LDS -...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[OneOfThe48]

Looks like the timetable change has just been confirmed for December 2025, and there's a joint TOC website as well.

www.lner.co.uk/news/more-seats-and-quicker-journeys-as-new-east-coast-main-line-timetable-given-green-light/

More Seats and Quicker Journeys as New East Coast Main Line Timetable Given Green Light​

LNER and the rail industry have welcomed the Government’s decision to give the green light to a new timetable for the East Coast Main Line (ECML) in December 2025, which will provide more trains, more seats and quicker journeys.

The new timetable will include growing capacity with more than 16,000 additional seats on LNER services per day and around six million seats per year between Newcastle, York and London, and better connectivity with faster services between London, the east of England, Yorkshire, the north-east and Scotland. It will also ensure better local services in many regions.

The December 2025 timetable is the result of £4billion invested on the ECML over the past decade, including the East Coast upgrade, and will:

• Enable passengers and communities to receive the benefit of significant investment including the East Coast Upgrade and a new fleet of Azuma trains;
• Improve connectivity between Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland with London, including reductions in journey times to long distance services;
• Allow all Thameslink and Great Northern services to call at the new Cambridge South station;
• Enable additional Northern services between Sheffield and Leeds, and between Middlesbrough and Newcastle;
• Increase TransPennine Express services between Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley to eight trains per day in each direction;
• Enable greater opportunities to further improve capacity in the future; with more work needed to increase capacity for freight customers

The new timetable will build on enhancements in May 2025, such as additional LNER services between Bradford Forster Square and London King’s Cross. These improvements will come during the year Bradford will be UK City of Culture, with weekday and Saturday services in each direction increasing from two to seven from May 2025. Sunday services will double from one to two in each direction, with further future enhancements planned.

This introduction of the new timetable follows close collaboration between Network Rail, ECML passenger and freight train operators, and other rail industry partners.

It represents a significant milestone in the ongoing enhancement of one of the busiest rail routes in the UK, and while the new December 2025 timetable does not introduce all of the aspirational service improvements for the ECML, it will pave the way for more in the future. It will also support the case for future funding, such as the investment needed for an additional high-speed service between Newcastle and Northallerton, and to improve capacity for freight.

David Horne, Managing Director of LNER, speaking on behalf of the rail industry said: “We’re delighted the new transformative timetable for December 2025 has been approved.

“It reflects a decade of significant investment to improve the ECML and will provide more trains, thousands more seats and quicker journeys. It will also set us on the right path to provide further journey improvements in the future.

“Train companies and Network Rail have worked together to create the new timetable and we encourage passengers to check our December 2025 timetable microsite to see what it means for them.

“Our focus as an industry, and with our stakeholders, is now on getting everything ready over the next 12 months to launch the new timetable so we can provide the best service possible for the passengers and communities we serve."

For more information on how the new December 2025 timetable will affect services from your local station, visit https://ecmltimetable.info

Joint website is at:

East Coast Main Line December 2025 Timetable

East Coast Main Line December 2025 Timetable

ecmltimetable.info