A top Northumberland councillor has described timetable changes on the East Coast Mainline coming into effect next December as a “slap in the face” for the county.
Proposals for the East Coast Main Line timetable given the green light by the Department for Transport (DfT) on Wednesday will see LNER services increase from two trains to three per hour between Newcastle and London’s King Cross. The timetable introduces an extra 16,000 seats per day on the operator’s services, with 37 additional services on weekdays.
Journey times between Edinburgh and London will be cut to close to four hours. It is hoped that faster journeys between Edinburgh and London could see rail’s share of the travel market between the two cities rise to 60%.
TransPennine Express will also increase its daily frequency of trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh from five to eight, while there will be additional Northern services running between Newcastle and Middlesbrough. LNER’s managing director David Horne described the timetable, which has been in the works since 2021, as “transformational”.
He added that it would contribute an economic value of at least £108m to the UK per year, while supporting “greener and more sustainable” journeys. However, shorter journey times will be achieved by fewer stops at smaller stations – with Berwick, Alnmouth, and Morpeth in Northumberland; and Durham and Darlington in County Durham all seeing a reduction in LNER services.
North East leaders had previously spoken of their fury for such plans, branding the timetable proposals “stupid” this time last year. Martin Gannon, leader of Gateshead Council and the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s cabinet member for transport said serious concerns over the green-lighted timetable remain.
He told ChronicleLive: “We have real concerns about the impacts of this timetable on the whole of the region. What’s really needed is investment in the East Coast Main Line.”
As well as further investment, Coun Gannon pointed to the the re-opening of the Leamside Line as a potential solution, to free up capacity on the East Coast Main Line currently taken up by freight trains. North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has already committed £8 million to create a business case to bring the northern section of the line back; but Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander gave no commitment on funding for Leamside at the official opening of the Northumberland Line last week.
A rail industry website which details the December 2025 timetable changes said: “The additional services will generate an additional £60m per year for the rail industry that will enable further enhancements on the East Coast Main Line, such as enabling additional track capacity between Newcastle and York.” However, it is not yet clear how long it will take to bring that capacity in our region.
Coun Richard Wearmouth, deputy leader of Northumberland County Council, told ChronicleLive on Thursday that the planned changes were a “slap in the face” to his county, with Berwick and Morpeth losing around a quarter of existing services. At the same time, he welcomed the increased number of Sunday services operated by Northern Rail and that additional TransPennine Express services would stop at the main Northumberland stations of Morpeth, Alnmouth and Berwick.
Coun Wearmouth told ChronicleLive: “Alongside organisations like the South East Northumberland Rail Users Group (SENRUG) we have previously helped forced rethinks to East Coast timetables that threatened services cuts to Northumberland and we were grateful that the last government listened to our concerns. Sadly this new timetable feels like a missed opportunity mixed with disappointments.
“We have pushed for and are pleased to see more Sunday services by Northern and some additional services with TransPennine Express stopping in the main Northumberland stations throughout the week. But Morpeth and Berwick losing about a quarter of their LNER scheduled stops is a real slap in the face.”
Responding to Coun Wearmouth’s comments, a spokesperson for LNER said: “LNER will continue to serve both Berwick-upon-Tweed and Morpeth with services throughout the day. We’ve worked closely with other rail operators to make sure there is strong local and national connectivity.
“We recognise the industry’s enhancements may not satisfy everyone, but the proposed timetable will be of benefit to the greatest number of customers across the north.”
Coun Wearmouth said that the council would continue to engage with train operators to seek improvements to the networks across the county. He added: “[Northumberland County Council] want to see the Newcastle to Morpeth train continue on to Bedlington when that station opens; and all passing TPE trains to stop at Cramlington. Also we would be keen to see Lumo stopping at Berwick given LNER’s poorer service to our county.”
ChronicleLive understands that Lumo has no plans to introduce more services at Berwick-upon-Tweed, but the operator has bid to extend its services to Glasgow, after LNER’s direct services ended there in last week’s timetable changes on Sunday, December 15.
TransPennine Express confirmed to ChronicleLive that some services will already stop at Cramlington, and the operator is currently working with industry partners to see if it is possible for every service to stop there. Northern added that no decisions have been made yet regarding Newcastle – Morpeth services continuing on to Bedlington.
Coun Wearmouth finished that the council would continue to build the case for a station at Belford, which is one of Mayor McGuiness’s 327 schemes included in an £8.66 billion blueprint vision for the future of the North East’s transport system, and a fast stopping service for smaller communities such as Widdrington, Pegswood and Chathill. Campaigners want to increase the frequency of services to Chathill, the second quietest station in the North East by figures, to open up the North Northumberland Coast to rail visitors.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/east-coast-mainline-timetable-2025-30622264
