A major rail timetable change has come into effect across the UK, delivering more than 76,000 extra seats per week on publicly-owned train operators. Industry leaders are calling it the most significant update in over ten years, marking a milestone for passengers and operators alike.
The lion’s share of the uplift comes from LNER services on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), which account for an impressive 60,000 additional seats per week. Northern and TransPennine Express have also rolled out service enhancements on the route, improving connectivity for thousands of passengers.
This transformation follows the completion of the East Coast Upgrade, part of a £4bn investment programme across the ECML. The changes promise faster journeys, better connectivity, and increased capacity for key routes.
East Coast Highlights
Among the improvements for publicly-owned operators are:
- Improved connectivity between London and Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland with LNER, including reductions in journey times for long-distance services.
- Additional LNER services on Sundays between Bradford Forster Square and London King’s Cross.
- Northern’s new hourly express service between Leeds and Sheffield, plus extra services between Middlesbrough and Newcastle.
- TransPennine Express boost: Newcastle–Edinburgh Waverley services increase to eight trains per day Monday–Saturday and seven on Sundays.
Capacity Gains Across the Network
Elsewhere, operators are making significant strides to meet growing demand:
- c2c has reinstated 12-car trains at Basildon and added extra stops at Barking, delivering up to 6,500 additional seats weekly through 30 extra services. This follows major upgrades at Basildon station.
- Greater Anglia has revised train times on the West Anglia route and added extra Sunday services to West Runton on the Norwich–Sheringham line. Longer trains now run on the Great Eastern Main Line and Southend Victoria–London route, increasing capacity from five to ten carriages.
- Southeastern introduces 29 extra high-speed services between St Pancras and Faversham each week, more evening trains from Charing Cross to Dartford and Maidstone East, and additional off-peak services from London Victoria to Ashford International. Comfort and capacity are boosted with longer trains on key routes, including Hastings services (now 12 carriages) and weekend Victoria–Dartford services doubling from four to eight carriages.
- Northern adds around 4,900 extra seats per week, doubling Sunday services between Newcastle and Morpeth, introducing an hourly Carlisle–Middlesbrough link via Sunderland and Hartlepool, and enhancing evening services on the Carlisle–Newcastle route.
- TransPennine Express increases Newcastle–Edinburgh services from five to eight per day, adding 2,000 extra seats weekly, while longer trains between Hull and Liverpool contribute a further 3,500 seats per week.
Currently, seven train operators are in public ownership: c2c, Greater Anglia, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway and TransPennine Express. West Midlands Trains, which operates London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, will join them on 1 February 2026.
Image credit: DFTO
