East Coast Main Line
The
East Coast Main Line (
ECML) is a major
railway line in the
United Kingdom, linking
London and
Edinburgh on a 396 mile route which runs via the
East of England,
Yorkshire,
North East England and the
Scottish Borders. 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.Differing from the Network Rail definition the ECML is sometimes regarded as extending beyond
Edinburgh to
Aberdeen, running mostly right on the east coast via
Kirkcaldy,
Dundee and
Arbroath. North of Edinburgh it includes the world-famous red
cantilever Forth Bridge, and at Dundee the curved
Tay Bridge both crossing wide river estuaries.
In 1983 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 140 mph (225 km/h) in normal service if in-cab signalling was installed; they have operated at speeds of up to 260 km/h (161 mph) in test runs.
British Rail experimented with 140 mph running by introducing a fifth flashing green aspect to existing signalling between New England North and Stoke Tunnel; this is still available for special test runs. The high speeds are possible because the line goes through the flatter eastern areas of England such as
Lincolnshire and
Cambridgeshire, allowing for a straight track. In contrast, the
West Coast Main Line has to traverse the
Trent Valley and the mountains of
Cumbria, which means more curves, and used to mean a lower speed of 110mph (177 km/h). 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.
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 work began in 1985 and the initial section between King's Cross and Leeds went into operational trials in 1988. The full 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), Hull Train's Pioneers (Kings Cross - Hull) and the older
HST sets working services north of Edinburgh towards Inverness and Aberdeen.
Midland Mainline also operate a limited service of HST's over a portion of the route between Doncaster and Leeds.
The ECML is one of the busiest lines on the rail network and there is currently insufficient capacity on parts of the line to satisfy all the requirements of both passenger and freight operators. 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 result, heavy winds frequently bring down the power lines along the route causing serious delays.
Railtrack (now
Network Rail) proposed an upgrade of the Route in the late 1990s. This was to have included among other things:
- Four-tracking of the
Welwyn Viaduct- Electrification supply upgrades along the route- Introduction of 140mph linespeeds- Abolition of the Newark Flat Crossing- Major remodelling of Peterborough Station
However with the escalation of costs in the Industry - particularly caused by the overspend on the WCML modernisation - this was scaled back by the SRA. The only major parts of this to survive were 'Leeds 1st' and the Allington Chord Line. The Newark Dyke Bridge was also replaced. Some minor incremental capacity improvements may also take place at a later date.
The ECML has been witness to a number of serious incidents resulting in death and serious injury:
*
Welwyn Garden City 15 June 1935 13 people died and 81 injured when 2 trains collided due to a signaller's error
*
4 serious crashes at Morpeth on
7 May 1969,
24 June 1984,
13 November 1992 and
27 June 1994*
King's Cross fire 18 November 1987*Newcastle upon Tyne Central Station
30 November 1989 15 people were injured when two interCity expresses collided
*
Hatfield rail crash 17 October 2000 *
Selby rail crash 28 February 2001*
Potters Bar rail crash 10 May 2002The line's current principal operator 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: commuter services between King's Cross, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and between Moorgate and Stevenage via either Welwyn Garden City or 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 Railway 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. [
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