East Coast Main Line

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Route

The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom, linking London, Yorkshire, the North East England and Scotland. The Network Rail definition of the ECML includes four separate lines:

• The main line between King's Cross station in London and Waverley Station in Edinburgh, via Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar;
• The line from Doncaster to Leeds, via Wakefield Westgate;
• The branch line from North Berwick to Edinburgh, and
• The suburban branch line from London's Moorgate station to Stevenage, via Finsbury Park and the Hertford Loop.

It is recognised by rail magazines in their general use of the "ECML" label that the line continues, mostly right on the east coast, to Kirkcaldy, Dundee, Arbroath, and Aberdeen. North of Edinburgh it includes the world-famous red cantilever Forth Bridge, and at Dundee the curved Tay Bridge both crossing wide river estuaries.

The opening of the Selby coalfield saw the line diverted between Colton, just south of York, and Temple Hirst, just north of the M62 motorway crossing.

The ECML is one of the fastest railway lines in the UK, with most of the line rated at 125 mph (200 km/h). The InterCity 225 trains which serve the line would be capable of 225 km/h (140 mph) in normal service if the signalling were to be upgraded to handle the increased speed. They have operated at speeds of up to 260 km/h in test runs. The high speeds are possible because the line goes through the flatter eastern areas of England such as Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, which allow for a straight track. Heading south from Leeds/Doncaster much of the line is straight. In contrast, the West Coast Main Line has to traverse the Trent Valley and the mountains of Cumbria, which means more bends, and used to mean a lower speed of 110mph (178 km/h) (although this has been addressed in recent years by the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line and the introduction of Pendolino tilting trains, leading to 125mph running).

History

The line was built piecemeal by many small railway companies, but mergers and acquisitions led to only three companies controlling the route, north to south the North British Railway, the North Eastern Railway and the Great Northern Railway. In 1860 the companies established the East Coast Joint Stock for through services using common vehicles. In 1923 all three were grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

The ECML has been the backdrop for a number of famous rail journeys and locomotives. The line was worked for many years by the famous steam locomotives "Flying Scotsman" and "Mallard": the latter was officially declared the world's fastest steam locomotive on the Grantham - Peterborough stretch, a title it holds to this day. Steam locomotives disappeared in the early 1960s, being replaced by diesels, firstly the legendary dual-engined Deltic locomotive, which remains the most powerful diesel electric engine ever built in the UK. This was replaced by the InterCity 125 or "HST" (High Speed Train), introduced between 1976 and 1981.

The cuttings and tunnel entrances just north of King's Cross make a memorable smoky appearance in the 1955 Ealing comedy film The Ladykillers. Also during the 1950s, the line featured in the advertising short Elizabethan Express. Later, the 1971 British gangster film Get Carter features a journey from London Kings Cross to Newcastle Central Station in the opening credits.

In what was seen by many as a surprising action for a Conservative government, the ECML was electrified in the late 1980s using state money. The electrification was completed in late 1990, and the current InterCity 225 rolling stock was introduced. Diesels still operate on the ECML - Virgin's Voyager (operating CrossCountry routes) and the older HST sets working services north of Edinburgh towards Inverness and Aberdeen.

Despite today's faster trains and more frequent services, the line cannot cope with demand. Although it has four tracks south of Peterborough, a bad bottleneck remains in the twin-track Welwyn viaduct just north of London. There is also a flat crossing with the Nottingham-Lincoln line just north of Newark station. There have been other criticisms - according to Christian Wolmar's book On The Wrong Line, the late '80s electrification project was allegedly cost cut to the point wherea the overhead line equipment was simply not built to the same standard as that on the WCML. As a direct result, heavy winds frequently bring down the power lines along the route causing serious delays.

Operators

The line's principal operator today is Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), whose services include regular trains from King's Cross to Leeds and Edinburgh. Other operators of passenger trains on the line are:

• First Capital Connect: suburban services between King's Cross and Peterborough and between Moorgate and Stevenage via the Hertford Loop
• Hull Trains: between Kings Cross and Doncaster, continuing to Hull
• Central Trains: between Grantham and Peterborough, part of the service that runs between Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich
• Virgin Trains: cross-country services north of Sheffield are routed via either Leeds or Doncaster. Leeds trains use the ECML between Wakefield Westgate and Leeds and then again north of York. Doncaster trains use the ECML north of Doncaster. Services run to and beyond Edinburgh. Occasional services run from Doncaster to Leeds before rejoining the ECML at York
• Midland Mainline: between Doncaster and Leeds, extensions of services running to/from Sheffield, Leicester and London St Pancras
• First TransPennine Express: between York and Newcastle and between York and Northallerton before they divert off the ECML to Middlesbrough via Yarm
• Northern Rail: suburban services from Doncaster to Leeds and Chathill to Newcastle via Morpeth railway station and infrequent services between Newcastle and Darlington that continue to Middlesbrough and Saltburn
• First ScotRail: services between Edinburgh and North Berwick

The Office of Rail Regulation has given permission for Grand Central Trains to run a service from Kings Cross to Sunderland, which is expected to start in 2007.

Eurostar also hold the right to run five trains a day on the line for services from continental Europe to cities north of London, although such services have never been run. [1]

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