National Express East Coast - National Express East Coast Services - C

National Express East Coast - C

National Express East Coast Services

NXEC's principal routes were from London King's Cross to Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley.

In off-peak times, there were three or four trains per hour to and from King's Cross. The following details apply to weekday operations.

National Express East Coast Principal Routes

• London–Leeds

The service between King's Cross and Leeds was generally half-hourly, with all trains serving Wakefield Westgate, most trains serving Peterborough and Doncaster and some serving Stevenage, Grantham, Newark and Retford.

• London–Newcastle–Edinburgh

A half-hourly service between King's Cross and Newcastle operated for most of the day, departing from London on the hour and on the half-hour. The 'top of the hour' departures continued through to Edinburgh Waverley (with the 10:00 departure keeping the traditional name Flying Scotsman), with a two-hourly extension to Glasgow Central. These trains generally ran as limited-stop expresses between London and Newcastle, all trains called at York, and most at Peterborough and Darlington, though afternoon and evening departures from King's Cross ran non-stop to Doncaster or York. The trains leaving King's Cross on the half-hour generally terminated at Newcastle and served Stevenage, Grantham, Newark, Retford, Northallerton, Doncaster and Durham as well as Peterborough, York, and Darlington.

National Express East Coast Other Routes

• London/Leeds–Aberdeen

There were four trains per day serving Aberdeen departing Leeds at 07:10 and King's Cross at 10:30 (The Northern Lights), 14:00 and 16:00 and Aberdeen at 07:52, 09:52 (The Northern Lights) and 14:50 for King's Cross and 18:16 for Edinburgh with a journey time from King's Cross of just over seven hours. These services were operated by HSTs, as the Edinburgh–Aberdeen line was not electrified.

• London–Inverness

The Highland Chieftain ran between Inverness and King's Cross with a journey time of just over eight hours, departing Inverness at 07:55 and King's Cross at 12:00. This service was operated by a HST, as the Edinburgh – Dunblane and Dunblane – Inverness lines were not electrified.

• London–Hull

The Hull Executive ran between Hull and King's Cross, departing Hull at 07:00 and King's Cross at 17:20. This service was operated by a HST as the Temple Hirst Junction – Hull Line was not electrified.

• London–Skipton

There was a 06:55 departure from Skipton and Keighley to King's Cross with an 18:03 return. This was an extension of a Leeds – King's Cross service. Though the line was electrified, the service was operated using a HST because the electrical infrastructure on the line was insufficient to support a Class 91 locomotive and the Class 333 EMUs that operate the local services.

The Saturday running of the southbound service was the only NXEC southbound service from Leeds not to call at Wakefield Westgate. This service departed from Leeds and headed along the Leeds – Selby Line to join the East Coast Main Line at Hambleton. This was to retain driver route knowledge for diversionary services.

• London–Bradford Forster Square

There was a 06:30 service from Bradford Forster Square to King's Cross with a 17:33 return. This was an extension of a Leeds – King's Cross service and was operated by an InterCity 225 set.

• London–Harrogate

There was a Monday-Saturday 07:28 departure from Harrogate to King's Cross. However, there was no return journey. This was operated by an InterCity 125.

National Express East Coast Named Trains

NXEC operated the following named passenger trains:

• The Hull Executive London–Hull / Hull–London
• The Northern Lights London–Aberdeen / Aberdeen–London
• The Highland Chieftain London–Inverness / Inverness–London
• The Flying Scotsman London–Edinburgh Waverley / Glasgow Central–London

National Express East Coast Overview

National Express East Coast Franchise(s): InterCity East Coast
9 December 2007 – 13 November 2009
National Express East Coast Main Region(s):
London
East of England
East Midlands
Yorkshire
North East England
Scotland
National Express East Coast Fleet Size:
14 InterCity 125 HST sets
31 InterCity 225 sets
5 Class 180 Adelante units (never used)
National Express East Coast Stations Called At: 53
National Express East Coast Stations Operated: 12
National Express East Coast Parent Company: National Express
National Express East Coast Reporting Mark: GR
National Express East Coast Predecessor: GNER
National Express East Coast Successor: East Coast

National Express East Coast  Route Map

Inverness
Perth
Stirling
Aberdeen
Dundee
Glasgow Central
Edinburgh Waverley
Newcastle
York
Harrogate
Leeds
Hull

Doncaster
Peterborough
London King's Cross