View source for East Coast Main Line

{{Short description|Railway link between London and Edinburgh}}
{{Redirect|ECML|the European Conference on Machine Learning|ECML PKDD|the protocol|Electronic Commerce Modeling Language}}
{{For|similarly named lines|East Coast Line (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox rail line
| box_width                       = 26em
| name                            = East Coast Main Line
| color                           = 
| logo                            = 
| image                           = File:An LNER Azuma train at Burnmouth, geograph 6350005 by Walter Baxter.jpg
| image_width                     = 
| caption                         = [[London North Eastern Railway|LNER]] [[British Rail Class 800|Azuma]] at [[Burnmouth]]
| type                            = {{ubl|[[Commuter rail]]|[[Inter-city rail]]|[[Heavy rail]]}}
| system                          = [[National Rail]]
| status                          = Operational
| locale                          = {{ubl|[[Greater London]]|[[East of England]]|[[East Midlands]]|[[Yorkshire and the Humber]]|[[North East England]]|[[Scottish Borders]]|[[Central Belt|Central Scotland]]}}
| start                           = {{rws|London King's Cross}}<br/>{{Coord|51.5314|-0.1234|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline|name=East Coast Main Line, London terminus}}
| end                             = {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}}<br/>{{Coord|55.9522|-3.1889|type:railwaystation_region:GB|display=inline|name=East Coast Main Line, Edinburgh terminus}}
| stations                        = 52
| routes                          = 
| daily_ridership                 = 
| open                            = 1850
| close                           = 
| owner                           = [[Network Rail]]
| operator                        = {{ubl|[[London North Eastern Railway]]|[[Govia Thameslink Railway|Great Northern]]|[[Govia Thameslink Railway|Thameslink]]|[[Hull Trains]]|[[East Midlands Railway]]|[[CrossCountry]]|[[TransPennine Express]]|[[Northern Trains]]|[[ScotRail]]|[[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]]|[[Lumo (train operating company)|Lumo]]|[[DB Cargo UK]]|[[GB Railfreight]]|[[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]]|[[Direct Rail Services]]|[[Colas Rail]]}}
| character                       = Primary<ref name=NRR5>{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%205%20-%20West%20Anglia.pdf |title=Route 5 – West Anglia |publisher=[[Network Rail]] |access-date=22 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607104701/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%205%20-%20West%20Anglia.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| depot                           = {{ubl|[[Bounds Green TMD|Bounds Green]] (London)|[[Craigentinny TMD|Craigentinny]] (Edinburgh)|[[Doncaster Carr rail depot|Doncaster Carr]]|[[Haymarket TMD|Haymarket]] (Edinburgh)|[[Heaton TMD|Heaton]] (Newcastle upon Tyne)|[[Hornsey TMD|Hornsey]] (London)|[[Neville Hill depot|Neville Hill]] (Leeds)}}
| linelength                      = {{convert|393|mi|13|chain|km|abbr=on}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/eastcoast/ |title=East Coast Main Line Rail Route Upgrading, United Kingdom |access-date=13 January 2009 |archive-date=11 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611102551/http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/eastcoast/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| tracklength                     = 
| tracks                          = [[Double track|Double]] and [[quadruple track]]
| gauge                           = {{track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
| old_gauge                       = 
| load_gauge                      = W9 (via Hertford Loop)
| availability                    = RA 7–9, RA 10 in parts between Selby and York
| minradius                       = 
| racksystem                      = 
| electrification                 = {{nowrap|[[25 kV AC railway electrification|25 kV 50 Hz AC]]}} [[Overhead line|OLE]]
| speed                           = {{cvt|125|mph|round=5}}{{efn|with plans to increase to {{convert|140|mph|abbr=on|round=5}}.}}
| elevation                       = 
| website                         = 
| map                             = [[File:East Coast Main Line.png|300px]]<br>([[:commons:File:East Coast Main Line.png|Click to expand]])
| map_state                       = uncollapsed
}}
{{East Coast Main Line}}
The '''East Coast Main Line''' ('''ECML''') is a {{convert|393|mi|km|adj=mid|long}} [[Railway electrification system|electrified]] [[railway]] between its northern terminus at {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}} and southern terminus at {{rws|London King's Cross}}.  The key towns and cities of {{rws|Peterborough}}, {{rws|Doncaster}}, {{rws|York}}, {{rws|Darlington}}, {{rws|Durham}} and {{rws|Newcastle}} are on the line. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1 road]]. The main line acts as a 'spine' for several diverging branches, serving destinations such as [[Cambridge line|Cambridge]], {{rws|Leeds}}, {{rws|Hull}}, {{stn|Sunderland}} and {{rws|Lincoln}}, all with direct services to London. In addition, a few ECML services extend beyond Edinburgh to serve other Scottish destinations, such as {{rws|Stirling|Scotland}}, {{rws|Inverness}}, {{rws|Dundee}}, or {{rws|Aberdeen}}.

The line was built during the 1840s by three railway companies, the [[North British Railway]], the [[North Eastern Railway (UK)|North Eastern Railway]], and the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]]. In 1923, the [[Railways Act 1921]] led to their amalgamation to form the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] (LNER) and the line became its primary route. The LNER competed with the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS) for long-distance passenger traffic between London and Scotland. The LNER's chief mechanical engineer [[Nigel Gresley]] designed iconic [[4-6-2|Pacific]] steam locomotives including ''[[LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman|Flying Scotsman]]'' and ''[[LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard|Mallard]]'', the latter of which achieved a world record speed for a steam locomotive, {{cvt|126|mph}} on the Grantham-to-Peterborough section on 3 July 1938.

In 1948, the railways were [[nationalisation|nationalised]] and operated by [[British Rail]]ways. In the early 1960s, steam was replaced by [[Diesel-electric locomotive#Diesel-electric traction|diesel-electric traction]], including the [[British Rail Class 55|Deltic]]s, and sections of the line were upgraded so that trains could run at speeds of up to {{cvt|100|mph|km/h}}. With the demand for higher speed, British Rail introduced [[InterCity 125]] high-speed trains between 1976 and 1981. In 1973, a [[British Rail Class 41 (HST)|Class 41]] (an HST prototype) achieved a top speed of {{cvt|143|mph|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} in a test run. In the 1980s, the line was electrified and [[InterCity 225]] trains introduced. These have in turn been largely replaced by [[British Rail Class 800|Class 800]] and [[British Rail Class 801|Class 801]] units. The November 2021 [[Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands]] stated that the linespeed would be upgraded to {{convert|140|mph|abbr=on|round=5}}.

The line links London, [[South East England]], [[East Anglia]] and the [[East Midlands]], with [[Yorkshire]], the [[North East England|North East]] and Scotland, and is important to their local economies. It carries commuter traffic in north London as well as cross-country, commuter and local passenger services, and [[Rail freight transport|freight]]. In 1997, operations were privatised. The primary long-distance operator is [[London North Eastern Railway]], but [[Open-access operator|open-access]] competition on services to [[Northern England]] and Scotland is provided by [[Hull Trains]], [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]] and [[Lumo (train operating company)|Lumo]].

==Route definition and description==
The ECML is part of [[Network Rail]]'s Strategic Route G, which comprises five separate lines:<ref name="SRP">{{cite web |url= http://www.networkrail.co.uk/RoutePlans/PDF/RouteG-EastCoastandNorthEast.pdf |title=Route Plans 2010: Route Plan G East Coast & North East |access-date=1 August 2012 |publisher= Network Rail |date=31 March 2010 |at=p.5 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120926131729/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/RoutePlans/PDF/RouteG-EastCoastandNorthEast.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

* The main line between {{rws|London King's Cross}} and {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}} stations, via {{rws|Stevenage}}, {{rws|Peterborough}}, {{rws|Grantham}}, {{rws|Newark North Gate}}, {{rws|Retford}}, {{rws|Doncaster}}, {{rws|York}}, {{rws|Northallerton}}, {{rws|Darlington}}, {{rws|Durham}}, {{rws|Newcastle}}, {{rws|Morpeth}}, {{rws|Alnmouth}}, {{rws|Berwick-upon-Tweed}} and {{rws|Dunbar}}. The line crosses the [[Anglo-Scottish border]] at [[Marshall Meadows Bay]];
* The [[Wakefield Line]], between Doncaster and {{rws|Leeds}}, via {{rws|Wakefield Westgate}};
* The [[Northern City Line]] from {{rws|Finsbury Park}} to {{rws|Moorgate}}; and
* The [[Hertford Loop Line]] from {{rws|Alexandra Palace}} to Stevenage.
* The branch line to {{rws|North Berwick}}

The core route is the main line between King's Cross and Edinburgh, the Hertford Loop is used for local and freight services, and the Northern City Line provides an inner-suburban service to the city.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url= https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/-/media/goahead/gtr-all-timetables/gn-timetables---21-may-2017-to-9-dec-2017/gn1705_a1_print.pdf |title=Hertford Loop Time Table |access-date=16 August 2017 |publisher= [[Govia Thameslink Railway]] |date=21 May 2017 |archive-date=5 July 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170705012358/https://www.greatnorthernrail.com/travel-information/plan-your-journey/-/media/goahead/gtr-all-timetables/gn-timetables---21-may-2017-to-9-dec-2017/gn1705_a1_print.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The line has [[engineers line reference]]s (ELR) ECM1 to ECM9.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brailsford |editor1-first=Martyn |title=Railway Track Diagrams 2: Eastern |date=October 2016 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-0-9549866-8-1 |at=maps 14–23 |edition=4th |last=Padgett |first=David |orig-year=1988 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brailsford |editor1-first=Martyn |title=Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man |date=December 2017 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-0-9549866-9-8 |at=map 11 |edition=6th |last=Kelman |first=Leanne |orig-year=1987 }}</ref>

==History==
===Origins and early operations===
The ECML was constructed by three independent railway companies. During the 1830s and 1840s, each company built part of the route to serve its own area, but also intending to link with other railways to form the through route that would become the East Coast Main Line. From north to south, the companies were:

* the [[North British Railway]] (NBR), from Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed, completed in 1846.
* the [[North Eastern Railway (UK)|North Eastern Railway]] (NER) from Berwick-upon-Tweed to [[Shaftholme]] just north of [[Doncaster]].
* the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] (GNR) from Shaftholme to King's Cross, completed in 1850.
[[File:4-2-2 GNR 22.jpg|thumb|left| A [[GNR Stirling 4-2-2|GNR Stirling Single]] express locomotive of the late 19th century]] 
The GNR established an end-on connection with the NER at [[Askern]], famously described by the GNR's chairman as in "a ploughed field four miles north of Doncaster".<ref name=RegHist8>{{cite book |last=Joy |first=David |title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain – Volume 8: South and West Yorkshire |year=1978 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-71537-783-3 |page=304}}</ref> Askern was connected to the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]], a short section of which was used to reach the NER at [[Knottingley]]. In 1871, the line was shortened when the NER opened a direct line from an end-on junction, with the GNR, at Shaftholme, just south of Askern to [[Selby]] and over Selby Bridge on the [[Leeds]]-[[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] line direct to [[York]].<ref name=RegHist8 />

Through journeys were important and lucrative for the companies and in 1860 they built special rolling stock for the line. Services were operated using  "East Coast Joint Stock" until 1922.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collection: East Coast Joint Stock Railway 1860–1922 |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp45846/east-coast-joint-stock-railway |publisher=Science Museum Group |access-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503111010/http://collection.sciencemuseum.org.uk/people/cp45846/east-coast-joint-stock-railway |archive-date=3 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The trains were hauled by GNR locomotives between King's Cross and York, which entailed utilisation of GNR [[running powers]] over the NER between Shaftholme Junction and York (which had been agreed in 1849 and exercised from the opening of the GNR in 1850); and by NER locomotives between York and Edinburgh, using NER running powers over the NBR between Berwick and Edinburgh (agreed in 1862 but not exercised until 1869).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomlinson |first1=William Weaver |author-link1=William Weaver Tomlinson |last2=Hoole |first2=Ken |author-link2=Ken Hoole |title=Tomlinson's North Eastern Railway: Its Rise and Development |year=1967 |orig-year=1915 |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |location=Newton Abbot |pages=503, 555, 605, 613, 638, 741–742 }}</ref>

===LNER era===
The entire ECML came under control of the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] (LNER) in 1923, under the [[Railways Act 1921]] which 'grouped' many small railway companies into [[Big Four (British railway companies)|four large ones]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Railways Act 1921 |id=11 & 12 Geo. 5 c. 55 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/11-12/55/enacted |website=legislation.gov.uk |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=2 May 2018}}</ref> The LNER was the second largest railway company in Britain, its routes were located to the north and east of London. 
[[File:Flying Scotsman express, 2547, Doncaster (CJ Allen, Steel Highway, 1928).jpg|thumb|left|[[LNER Class A3]] [[List of LNER Class A1/A3 locomotives|No. 2547 ''Doncaster'']] hauls the daily ''[[Flying Scotsman (train)|Flying Scotsman]]'' in 1928.]]
The LNER appointed [[Nigel Gresley]] (who was knighted in 1937) as its Chief Mechanical Engineer, and under his tenure, [[4-6-2|Pacific]] steam locomotives were developed as the standard express locomotive to work the line, several of which became famous, these included the [[LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3|Class A3]], including [[LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman|4472 ''Flying Scotsman'']], and the later [[LNER Class A4|Class A4]], including [[LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard|4468 ''Mallard'']].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Geoffrey |title=Sir Nigel Gresley: The Engineer and his Family |series=The Oakwood Library of Railway History |year=2001 |publisher=Oakwood Press |isbn=0-85361-579-9 |place=Usk }}</ref> During this time ''Mallard'' set a new world-record speed for a steam locomotive (see {{section link||Speed records}}).

===Races to the North===
{{main|Race to the North}}
The East Coast Main Line was engaged in long running rivalry with the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML), the other main trunk route between London and Scotland. At various points in the late 19th century, highly publicised but unofficial races occurred between express trains on the two routes, most notably in 1888 and 1895. These races were ended over concerns over safety, but later the rivalry resumed in the 1920s and 1930s as both the LNER and its West Coast competitor, the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS), produced ever-more-powerful express locomotives. This reached its crescendo in the late 1930s, when the LNER introduced the famous streamlined [[LNER Class A4|Class A4]] locomotives and the LMS countered with its own streamlined [[LMS Coronation Class|Coronation Class]]{{snd}}both of which were capable of reaching speeds in excess of {{cvt|100|mph|abbr=on}}. The competition was curtailed soon thereafter by the coming of [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nock |first1=Oswald Stevens |title=The Railway Race to the North |date=1958 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=London}}</ref>

===British Rail era===
In the aftermath of the war, [[Clement Attlee]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Government]] [[nationalisation|nationalised]] the LNER and the other three major railway companies in Great Britain with the passage of the [[Transport Act 1947]], and with effect from 1 January 1948 merged them into [[British Rail]]ways (BR).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolmar |first1=Christian |title=Fire & steam : a new history of the railways in Britain |date=2008 |publisher=Isis |location=Oxford |isbn=9780753156841 |page=407}}</ref> The ECML came under the control of three of BR's [[British_Rail#Regions|regions]]; the [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]], the [[North Eastern Region of British Railways|North Eastern Region]], and the [[Scottish Region of British Railways|Scottish Region]] (the former two were merged together in 1967). 

====Diesel era====
[[File:Class_55_Deltic,_Princes_St_Gardens,_Edinburgh,_September_1980_Slides259_(10196492076)_-crop-.jpg|thumb|left|{{brc|55}} "Deltic" locomotive at Edinburgh in 1980. These were the main express locomotives on the ECML in the 1960s and 1970s.]]
In the early 1960s, steam locomotives were replaced by [[Diesel-electric locomotive#Diesel-electricl traction|diesel-electrics]], amongst them the [[British Railways DP1|Deltic]], a powerful high-speed locomotive developed and built by [[English Electric]]. The prototype was successful and a fleet of 22 locomotives were built and put into BR service for express traffic. Designated {{brc|55}}, they were powered by a pair of [[Napier Deltic]] engines that had been developed for fast torpedo boats. The Class 55 'Deltics' were for a time the fastest and most powerful diesel locomotives in service in Britain, capable of reaching {{convert|100|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and providing up to {{convert|3300|hp|abbr=on|lk=in}}. When introduced into service in 1961, the Class 55's ability to rapidly accelerate and maintain high speed with a heavy train over long distances, immediately cut over one hour from the standard London to Edinburgh journey time, from seven hours to under six. Further improvements to the infrastructure meant that by the mid-1970s, another half-hour had been cut from the journey time.<ref name="ccCarr">{{cite web |last1=Carr |first1=Roger |title=Trackside Classic: 1961 British Rail Class 55 'Deltic' Diesel Locomotive – A Distinctive Roar of Confidence on Britain's Rails |date=5 December 2020 |url=https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/trackside-classic-1961-british-rail-class-55-deltic-diesel-locomotive-a-distinctive-roar-of-confidence-on-britains-rails/ |publisher=Curbside Classic |access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref>

In the years following the introduction of the Deltics, sections of the ECML were upgraded for trains running at speeds of up to {{cvt|100|mph|km/h}}. On 15 June 1965, the first length of high-speed line, a {{convert|17|mi|km}} stretch between Peterborough and Grantham, was completed. The next section was {{convert|12|mi|km}} of line between Grantham and Newark and more sections were upgraded to enable high speeds along much of the line.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=Railway Magazine |date=November 1965 |page=858}}{{Title missing|date=February 2023}}</ref>
[[File:19880827-KingsCross-HST-43079.jpg|thumb|left|InterCity 125 at King's Cross in 1988]]
Continuing demand for reduced journey times led British Rail to introduce a successor to the Deltics, the [[InterCity 125]] High Speed Train (HST) between 1978 and 1979. These could reach speeds up to {{convert|125|mph|abbr=on}} on existing infrastructure, bringing the fastest London–Edinburgh timing down by another hour, to {{fraction|4|1|2}} hours.<ref name="ccCarr"/> They operated most express passenger services on the line until electrification was completed in 1991, after which they continued in use on services that run off the ECML and onto non-electrified lines. Generally popular with the public, and considered by some to be iconic, they ran on the ECML for 41 years, before being withdrawn in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Watch: We bid farewell to the LNER HSTs |url=https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2020/01/watch-we-bid-farewell-to-the-lner-hsts.html |publisher=Rail Advent |access-date=20 February 2023 |date=2 January 2020}}</ref>

In 1973, the prototype HST [[British Rail Class 41 (HST)|British Rail Class 41]] recorded a top speed of {{convert|143|mph|abbr=on}} in a test run on the line.<ref name="Barnett">{{cite book |last1=Barnett |first1=Roger |title=Working Paper: British Rail's InterCity 125 and 225 |date=June 1992 |publisher=University of California Transportation Centre |location=Berkeley |pages=32, 34 |id=UCTC No. 114 |url=http://www.uctc.net/papers/114.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529152114/http://www.uctc.net/papers/114.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Coxon |first1=Dave |title=Testing the prototype HST in 1973 |url=http://www.traintesting.com/HST_prototype.htm |website=Testing Times |access-date=22 September 2012}}</ref>

====Electrification====
There had been proposals to [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrify]] all or parts of the ECML as far back as the early 1900s, but no significant scheme was implemented until the 1970s and 1980s, with the entire line being electrified in two stages between 1976 and 1991. 

Early proposed schemes included a 1904 proposal by the [[Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)|Great Northern Railway]] to electrify its suburban services from London. A short stretch of the ECML in the Newcastle area was electrified with a [[third rail]] in 1904, as part of the [[North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom)|North Eastern Railway]]'s suburban [[Tyneside Electrics]] scheme. Following the success of this scheme, in 1919 the North Eastern Railway, planned to electrify {{convert|80|miles}} of the main line between York and Newcastle; the scheme progressed as far as a [[LNER Class EE1|prototype locomotive]], however it was cancelled on financial grounds after 1923 when the NER was grouped into the LNER, and the new management had no interest in pursuing the scheme.{{r|Semmens1990|p=226–227}} In the early-1930s, studies were conducted into electrifying sections or all of the ECML.<ref name="ele upgrade18">{{cite news |last1=Stanton |first1=Peter |title=ECML Power Supply Upgrade |url=https://www.railengineer.co.uk/ecml-power-supply-upgrade/ |access-date=4 February 2023 |work=Rail Engineer |publisher=Rail Media Group |date=23 November 2017 |location=Coalville}}</ref><ref name="Semmenselectify">{{cite book |last1=Semmens |first1=Peter |title=Electrifying The East Coast Route |date=1991 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |isbn=0-85059-929-6}}</ref> 

[[British Rail]]'s [[1955 modernisation plan]] placed equal importance on electrification of both the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML) and ECML; a detailed plan drawn up in 1957 gave a completion date of 1970 for ECML electrification. However, the East Coast authorities decided that they could not wait over a decade for service improvements, and instead decided to invest in high-speed diesel traction, the Deltic and High Speed Train, as an interim measure to implement improved services, whilst West Coast electrification proceeded, and was largely complete by 1974.<ref name="Semmenselectify"/><ref name="ele upgrade18"/> During the period when [[Richard Beeching]] was chairman of British Rail, WCML electrification including the spur from Carstairs to Edinburgh was seen as possible justification for the truncation of the ECML at Newcastle.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-first=Charles |editor-last=Long |title=Less is more |magazine=Modern Railways |date=August 1979 |volume=36 |number=371 |page=327}}</ref>

British Rail carried out electrification of the southern part of the ECML with {{nowrap|[[25 kV AC railway electrification|25 kV AC]]}} [[overhead line]]s from London King's Cross to {{rws|Hitchin}} between 1976 and 1977. This was authorised in 1971 for the benefit of London suburban services as part of the [[Great Northern route|Great Northern Suburban Electrification Project]], using Mk.{{nbsp}}3A equipment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Your New Electric Railway: The Great Northern Suburban Electrification |id=BR(E) M68 (4/73) |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRE_GNElectric1973.pdf |publisher=British Rail |access-date=18 March 2014 |year=1973 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924111404/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRE_GNElectric1973.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The scheme electrified {{convert|70|mi|km|adj=pre|route}}, including the [[Hertford Loop Line]], part of the [[Cambridge Line]] from Hitchin to {{rws|Royston}}, and incorporated the [[Northern City Line]] to {{stn|Moorgate}}.<ref name="Semmenselectify"/> 

In the late 1970s, a working group of British Rail and [[Department for Transport]] officials convened and determined that, of all options for further electrification, the ECML represented the best value by far. Its in-house forecasts determined that increases in revenue and considerable reductions in energy and maintenance costs would occur by electrifying the line.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/> In 1984, the decision was made to commence the electrification of the rest of the ECML to Edinburgh and Leeds. The [[Secretary of State for Transport]] [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]] and [[Minister for Railways]] [[David Mitchell (politician)|David Mitchell]] played a large role in the decision to proceed.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/>

[[File:Aycliffe station geograph-3247503-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|left|An [[InterCity 225]] set on the ECML in 1991, shortly after the completion of the electrification.]]
Construction began on the second phase in 1985. In 1986 the section to Huntingdon was completed; Leeds was reached in 1988, then York in 1989 and Edinburgh in 1991. Electric services on the full length of the line began on 8 July 1991, eight weeks later than scheduled. Significant traffic increases occurred in the two years after completion; one station recorded a 58 per cent increase in passengers.<ref name = "raileng elect18">{{cite news |last1=Shirres |first1=David |title=ECML: Electrification as it used to be |url=https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/11/27/ecml-electrification-as-it-used-to-be/ |work=Rail Engineer |publisher=Rail Media Group |place=Coalville |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=11 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165146/https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/11/27/ecml-electrification-as-it-used-to-be/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The programme also electrified the [[Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line|Edinburgh-Carstairs]] branch of the WCML, to allow InterCity 225 sets to access {{rws|Glasgow|Central}}, with the added benefit of creating an electrified path to/from Edinburgh on the WCML from the south.

In total the electrification programme covered roughly {{convert|1400|mi|km|adj=pre|single-track}} and required major infrastructure changes, including resignalling of the line from Temple Hirst Junction (near Selby in Yorkshire) to the Scottish border; the construction of new signalling centres at Niddrie, York, and Newcastle; the commissioning of ten new connections to the national electricity grid; and structure clearance and electrical immunisation works along the length of the line.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/> Included in the structure clearance works were the 127 overbridges that crossed the ECML. Where the existing bridge clearance was insufficient, project managers favoured wherever possible the rebuilding of the bridge rather than the lowering of the track, as the latter requires considerable civil works and can create long-term drainage problems.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/>

[[File:Berwick-upon-Tweed MMB 10 Royal Border Bridge and 66605.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Border Bridge]] near Berwick, showing low-profile electrification equipment positioned to match the spacing of the bridge's arches.]]
Where [[listed building]]s were to be affected by the programme, BR sought approval for its plans from the [[Royal Fine Art Commission]]. Through this process a special design of overhead wiring was developed for use on the visually-sensitive [[Royal Border Bridge]], as well as the [[Croxdale]] and [[Durham Viaduct|Durham City viaducts]]. Elsewhere the standard Mk.{{nbsp}}3B equipment was deployed.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/>

The electrification was completed at a cost of £344.4{{nbsp}}million (at 1983 prices, equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK-GDP|344.4|1983|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} a minor overrun against its authorised expenditure of £331.9{{nbsp}}million. Of the total cost, 60 per cent was for the electrification process itself, while the remaining 40 per cent covered rolling stock, including the new [[InterCity 225]] trains procured specially for the route.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/> These were introduced in 1989 to operate express services.<ref>{{cite book |last=Semmens |first=Peter |title=Electrifying the East Coast Route: Making of Britain's First 140 m.p.h. Railway |date=March 1991 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |place=Wellingborough |isbn=978-0-85059-929-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Back to the future as history made with east coast rail icons |url=http://www.nrm.org.uk/aboutus/pressoffice/pressreleases/2017/april/four-trains-completed |publisher=National Railway Museum |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=11 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111052824/http://www.nrm.org.uk/aboutus/pressoffice/pressreleases/2017/april/four-trains-completed |url-status=live }}</ref> They were developed by the [[General Electric Company]] (GEC), as the winners of a competitive tender process.<ref name="raileng elect18"/> The InterCity 225 sets were used alongside other rolling stock, including {{brc|90}} locomotives and {{brc|317}} electric multiple units. The displaced diesel trains were reallocated predominantly to the [[Midland main line|Midland Main Line]].<ref name="raileng elect18"/>

The infrastructure supported speeds of up to 140{{nbsp}}mph, allowing a non-stop run of three hours and 29 minutes between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/> As part of testing done to support safe operation the increased maximum speed, BR experimented in 1988 with using a fifth [[British railway signals|signalling aspect]]{{snd}}flashing green{{snd}}on the fast lines between Peterborough and Stoke Tunnel.<ref name="re-digital">{{cite news |last1=Bickell |first1=David |title=The digital railway – progresses to the East Coast Main Line |url=https://www.railengineer.co.uk/the-digital-railway-progresses-to-the-east-coast-main-line/ |access-date=4 February 2023 |work=Rail Engineer |publisher=Rail Media Group |date=15 November 2018 |location=Coalville}}</ref><ref name=Barnett/> The flashing green aspect appeared at signals preceding one displaying an ordinary steady green aspect, and authorised running at up to 140{{nbsp}}mph. Upon encountering a steady green aspect the driver would reduce speed to no greater than 125{{nbsp}}mph, and thus be ready to react to subsequent signals in the same manner as when driving a lower-speed train.<ref name="re-digital" /> The testing found, however, that drivers couldn't be expected to consistently and accurately interpret and respond to lineside signals when driving at the higher speed, and regulations were later changed throughout Britain to require the use of [[cab signalling|in-cab signalling]] whenever running service trains at speeds above 125{{nbsp}}mph.<ref name="re-digital" /><ref name="Heath">{{cite journal |last1=Heath |first1=D. L. |last2=Wood |first2=A. M. J. |last3=Fenwick |first3=T. H. |last4=Riddell |first4=J. B. |title=Discussion: Electrification of British Railway's East Coast Main Line |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Transport |date=August 1994 |volume=105 |issue=3 |page=232 |doi=10.1680/itran.1994.26798}}</ref> Nevertheless, {{citation needed span|date=February 2023|text=the fifth aspect was not removed from signals in the test area}}, and the relevant track Sectional Appendix continued to list the capability to run special test trains in excess of 125{{nbsp}}mph as recently as 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/ic225.htm |title=The Inter-city 225 |access-date=29 May 2008 |first=Oliver |last=Keating |work=High Speed Rail |archive-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617025814/http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/ic225.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Privatisation and renationalisation===
As part of the [[privatisation of British Rail]] in the mid-1990s, passenger operations on the ECML were offered to bidders as the [[InterCity East Coast]] franchise. It was held by [[Great North Eastern Railway]] from 1996 until 2007, when the company experienced financial difficulties; the franchise then passed to [[National Express East Coast]] until in 2009, when it too encountered financial problems and the government was forced to run the franchise itself as '[[East Coast (train operating company)|East Coast]]'. Another attempt at returning the franchise to private-sector operation was made by [[Virgin Trains East Coast]] in 2015, but this failed in 2018, and thus since then it has been run by the public sector through the government's [[operator of last resort]] procedure under the [[London North Eastern Railway]] brand.<ref>{{cite news |title=East Coast train line to be put into public control |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44142258 |work=BBC News |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=2 February 2023 |date=16 May 2018}}</ref>

===Route alterations===
The route of the ECML has been altered or diverted several times, beginning with the opening of the [[King Edward VII Bridge]] in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1906. Later, the [[Penmanshiel Tunnel|Penmanshiel tunnel collapse]] in the Scottish Borders in 1979 necessitated urgent works to divert the line around the irreparably-damaged tunnel; ultimately the line was closed for five months and around {{convert|1|km|yd|order=flip|abbr=out}} of the original alignment had to be abandoned.<ref>{{cite report |last=McNaughton |first=Lt. Col. I. K. A. |title=Report on the Collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel that occurred on 17th March 1979 in the Scottish Region British Railways |date=2 August 1983 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office |location=London |url=https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Penmanshiel1979.pdf |access-date=26 July 2020 |isbn=0-1155-0626-8}}</ref>

In the late 1970s in the north of England, the development of the [[Selby Coalfield]]{{snd}}and the anticipated subsidence that might result from its workings{{snd}}led the [[National Coal Board]] to pay for the construction of the {{convert|14|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} [[Selby Diversion]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=P. B. |title=Selby Diversion of the East Coast Main Line; 1. The background and study of alternatives |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |date=November 1983 |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=719–748 |doi=10.1680/iicep.1983.1361}}</ref> Construction commenced in 1980, and was completed in late 1983 at a cost of £63{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK-GDP|63|1983|r=0}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Collingwood |first1=R. W. |first2=T. H. |last2=Fenwick |first3=P. G. |last3=Payne |first4=G. J. C. |last4=Jebb |first5=A. W. |last5=Berryman |first6=M. |last6=Couchman |first7=W. G. K. |last7=Fleming |first8=S. |last8=Thorburn |first9=F. H. |last9=Hughes |first10= E. F. |last10=Humphries |first11=W. M. |last11=Lewis |first12=G. H. |last12=Coper |first13=J. E. |last13=Spindel |title=Discussion: Selby diversion of the East Coast Main Line – Construction |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |date=April 1986 |volume=80 |issue=2 |pages=537–552 |doi=10.1680/iicep.1986.746|doi-access=free }}</ref> The new section diverged from the original alignment at Temple Hirst Junction, north of Doncaster, bypassed Selby station and the area to be undermined by coal workings, and then joined the Leeds–York line of the former [[York and North Midland Railway]] at Colton Junction, south-west of York.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoole |first1=Ken |title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 4: The North East |date=1986 |publisher=David St John Thomas |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=978-0-94653-731-0 |page=229 |edition=3rd}}</ref> The old line between Selby and York was dismantled and is now a public cycleway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/york-to-selby |title=National Cycle Network: York to Selby |publisher=Sustrans |access-date=27 June 2017 |archive-date=31 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731192314/http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ncn/map/route/york-to-selby |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mining subsidence discovered in 2001 also necessitated the realignment of {{cvt|1.8|km|mi}} of line at Dolphingstone in [[East Lothian]], between {{rws|Prestonpans}} and {{rws|Wallyford}} stations. The new alignment takes the form of a gentle curve of up to {{cvt|77|m|ft}} towards the south, supported by concrete slabs and other ground stabilisation and reinforcement techniques, and is designed to avoid the need for a permanent speed restriction. It came into use in the last week of April 2003, at a cost of £56{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK-GDP|56|2003|r=0}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}).<ref name="nce-hole">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/ace-in-the-hole/727332.article |author=<!--not given--> |title=Ace in the Hole |date=1 April 2003 |magazine=New Civil Engineer |publisher=EMAP Publishing |access-date=4 February 2023 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219090847/https://www.newcivilengineer.com/ace-in-the-hole/727332.article |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Speed records===
[[File:60022_Stoke_Bank_090662.jpg|thumb|''Mallard'', the world-record-holding steam locomotive]]
World [[Land speed record for railed vehicles|speed records]] for both steam and diesel traction have been set on the ECML.

LNER's [[LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard|4468 ''Mallard'']] set the record for a [[steam locomotive]] at {{convert|126|mph|abbr=on}} whilst descending [[Stoke Bank]] on 3 July 1938.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hale |first1=Don |title=Mallard: How the 'Blue Streak' Broke the World Steam Speed Record |date=2005 |publisher=Aurum Press |location=London |isbn=1-85410-939-1}}</ref><ref name="Semmens1990">{{cite book |last1=Semmens |first1=Peter |title=Speed on the East Coast Main Line: A Century and a Half of Accelerated Services |date=1990 |publisher=Patrick Stephens |place=Wellingborough |isbn=0-85059-930-X}}</ref>{{rp|62-73}} The record remains standing today, and a trackside sign was erected in July 1998 at the {{fraction|90|1|4}} milepost to commemorate the achievement.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Speed record honoured on Stoke Bank |magazine=Rail Magazine |issue=337 |date=12 August 1998 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mallard's speed record marked for posterity |magazine=The Railway Magazine |issue=1170 |date=October 1998 |page=8}}</ref>

The world record for diesel-powered trains was set at {{convert|148|mph|abbr=on}} on 1 November 1987, by a shortened [[InterCity 125]] train of two [[British Rail Class 43 (HST)|Class 43 power cars]] and three coaches during a southbound run from Darlington to York.{{r|Semmens1990|p=129–225}}<ref>{{cite press release |title=Class 43 High-Speed Train, also known as the InterCity 125, is unveiled at National Railway Museum in York |url=https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/about-us/press-office/high-speed-locomotive-sir-kenneth-grange-joins-national-railway-museum |publisher=National Railway Museum |place=York |access-date=3 February 2023 |date=11 November 2019}}</ref> At least two other trains have subsequently recorded higher speeds, but {{as of|2023|2|lc=y}} the InterCity 125 record remains the highest to have been officially verified.<ref name="CCIC125">{{cite web |title=Trackside Classic: 1976 British Rail Inter City 125 High Speed Train – Still Setting The Standard |date=18 October 2021 |url=https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/trackside-classic-1976-british-rail-inter-city-125-high-speed-train-still-setting-the-standard/ |publisher=Curbside Classic |access-date=9 February 2023}}</ref>

A British speed record for [[electric locomotive]]s of {{convert|161.7|mph|abbr=on}} was achieved on 17 September 1989, also at Stoke Bank, by {{brc|91}} locomotive number 91010.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Class 91 hits 162 mph |magazine=Rail Magazine |issue=106 |date=5 October 1989 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Moving Memorials – Railways and Commemoration |last1=Dunn Birch |first1=Philip |date=2016 |url=https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-11/memorial%20locomotives.docx |format=DOCX |publisher=National Railway Museum |place=York |page=10}}</ref> On 26 September 1991, an [[InterCity 225]] shortened electric locomotive train was authorised to reach speeds up to 140mph completing the London to Edinburgh journey in 3 hours 29 minutes.<ref name = "raileng elect18"/>

==Future==
In November 2021, as part of the [[Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands|Integrated Rail Plan]], the DfT announced a major upgrade of the line. The upgrade is set to include major track improvements and digital signalling, leading to higher speeds, reduced journey times and increases in seat capacity. The power supply will also be upgraded to allow longer and more frequent trains.<ref name="IRP">{{cite report |date=18 November 2021 |title=Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands |publisher= Department for Transport |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/integrated-rail-plan-for-the-north-and-the-midlands |page=14 |access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref>

=== East Coast Digital Programme ===
The last refresh of the lineside signalling system on the southern ECML between London King's Cross and the Stoke Tunnel was commissioned in 1977 and as such was up for renewal between 2020 and 2029. Instead of renewing the current lineside signalling, it was decided to upgrade this section of the ECML to [[European Rail Traffic Management System|ERTMS]] in-cab signalling. This will not be the first instance of ERTMS on the UK rail network; it is in use on the [[Cambrian Line]] (where it was first piloted), on the [[Thameslink]] core [[Widened Lines]] route (with an ATO overlay), and on the Heathrow branch of the [[Great Western Main Line]]. However, it is the most complex application yet; it is the first use in the UK of ERTMS on such a busy, mixed-traffic line, with [[Rail freight transport|freight]], [[Commuter rail|commuter]], [[Regional rail|regional]] and [[Inter-city rail|InterCity]] services sharing as little as two tracks in the tightest sections.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=East Coast ETCS is go |url= https://www.modernrailways.com/article/informed-sources-east-coast-etcs-go |access-date=26 February 2023 |first=Roger |last=Ford |author-link= Roger Ford (journalist) |magazine= Modern Railways |date=23 April 2020}}</ref>

Unlike the Widened Lines route and the GWML, where ERTMS complements traditional lineside signals, the southern ECML will have its signals removed once the transition period to ERTMS is complete. This means that all trains running on the route will be required to be fitted with the appropriate onboard equipment. 

The Class 800 series (LNER Azuma Classes [[British Rail Class 800|800]] and [[British Rail Class 801|801]], Hull Trains Paragon [[British Rail Class 802|Class 802]], Lumo [[British Rail Class 803|Class 803]]), Thameslink [[British Rail Class 700|Class 700]] and Great Northern [[British Rail Class 717|Class 717]] fleets are fitted with ERTMS equipment from manufacture. The Great Northern [[British Rail Class 387|Class 387]] fleet is undergoing retrofit, with the first train sent to Worksop Depot in October 2022. Following its return to service in July 2023, the remaining trains will be retrofitted in Hornsey Depot.<ref>{{Cite news |title=GTR Class 387 sent for fleet retrofit for ETCS in-cab signalling |url= https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/news/138701/gtr-class-387-sent-for-uks-first-major-fleet-retrofit-for-etcs-in-cab-signalling/ |date=25 October 2022 |first=Elliot |last=Robinson |access-date=26 February 2023 |website= Global Railway Review}}</ref> The introduction of in-cab signalling will allow the ECML line speed to be increased to 140{{nbsp}}mph in some places. The Class 800 series trains were designed to reach this speed, but minor modifications will be required to remove the equipment that is currently limiting speeds to 125{{nbsp}}mph. There are currently no plans to retrofit ERTMS equipment to the [[InterCity 225]] fleet, as they are expected to be withdrawn before the removal of the lineside signals; this means they will never reach their design speed of 140{{nbsp}}mph (225{{nbsp}}km/h) in service.

=== Darlington railway station upgrade ===
As part of a £140{{nbsp}}million investment, [[Darlington railway station]] is being redeveloped to increase the reliability, connectivity, and accessibility of the station;<ref name=":122">{{Cite web |title=Darlington station upgrades |url=https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/east-coast/darlington-station-upgrades/ |access-date=15 June 2025 |website=Network Rail |language=en-GB}}</ref> the plan resurrects many features of the abandoned [[Tees Valley Metro]]. The project includes the construction of a new concourse, multi-storey car park and two new platforms on the current freight avoiding lines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Darlington Station 2025 - A New Future |url=https://teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/investments/darlington-station-transformation/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Tees Valley |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite web |last=Manning |first=Jonny |date=19 August 2024 |title=Images show how station will look after upgrade |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1jlw0743kno}}</ref> The [[Tees Valley Combined Authority]] contributed £43{{nbsp}}million towards the upgrade, with the other £96{{nbsp}}million being supplied by Network Rail and the Department for Transport. Other key stakeholders in the project include LNER, who manage the station, and Darlington Borough Council.<ref name=":222">{{Cite web |last=sarahrudge |date=26 November 2024 |title=Darlington station £140M transformation hits major milestone |url=https://ccemagazine.com/news/darlington-station-140m-transformation-hits-major-milestone/ |access-date=15 June 2025 |website=Construction & Civil Engineering magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Darlington Station {{!}} National Rail |url=https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/darlington/ |access-date=15 June 2025 |website=www.nationalrail.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

The upgrade includes the construction of a new Eastern concourse at the station, two new platforms at the station, and the remodelling of the track layout, and a new bridge over the railway on Smithfield Road.<ref name=":122" /> The upgrade also includes work to the overhead line equipment and installation of new [[Railroad switch|points]] and cabling.<ref name=":33">{{Cite web |title=Major progress in £140m Darlington station upgrade |url=https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/articles/major-progress-ps140m-darlington-station-upgrade |access-date=15 June 2025 |website=Rail Technology Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The project is scheduled to finish in 2025 as part of the Railway 200 celebrations, which mark the anniversary of the opening of the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]], which began serving Darlington station in 1825.<ref name=":222" />

The East Coast Main Line was closed over six weekends in early 2025 in order to facilitate this work; as part of the closure, work was also carried out on the track at [[Chester-le-Street railway station|Chester-Le-Street railway station]], the demolition of the Allerdene bridge over the railway near [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], and many other smaller projects that made use of the closure.<ref name=":33" /> A 50-tonne [[footbridge]] was installed during these closures in February 2025, which will connect the existing building with the two new platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 February 2025 |title=New footbridge installed at Darlington railway station |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y28wgxe6qo |access-date=15 June 2025 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
{{main|Infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line}}
[[File:Aerial view of Chester Burn Railway Viaduct, Chester-le-Street.jpg|thumb|[[Chester Burn Viaduct]] carries the ECML through the [[County Durham]] town of [[Chester-le-Street]]]]
The line is mainly [[quadruple track]] from London to Stoke Tunnel, south of [[Grantham]], with two [[double track]] sections: one between Digswell Jn & Woolmer Green Jn, where the line passes over the [[Digswell Viaduct]], Welwyn North station and the two Welwyn tunnels; and one between Fletton Junction (south of Peterborough) and Holme Junction, south of Holme Fen. The route between Holme Junction and Huntingdon is mostly triple track, with the exception of a southbound loop between Conington and Woodwalton. North of Grantham the line is double track except for quadruple-track sections at {{rws|Retford}}, around Doncaster, between Colton Junction (south of York), {{rws|Thirsk}} and {{rws|Northallerton}}, and Newcastle.<ref name=route8busplan08/> 

The line is carried along its route by several bridges and viaducts which are recognised as architecturally significant [[listed building|listed structures]]; the longest of which is the {{convert|659|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} [[Royal Border Bridge]] at [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]]. Others include [[Digswell Viaduct]], near [[Welwyn Garden City]], at {{cvt|475|metres}}, the [[Ouseburn Viaduct]] in Newcastle at {{cvt|280|metres}}, [[Durham Viaduct]] at {{cvt|240|metres}}, and [[Chester Burn Viaduct]] in Chester-le-Street at {{cvt|230|metres}}. The {{convert|350|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} [[King Edward VII Bridge]] in Newcastle was opened in 1906, replacing the older [[High Level Bridge, River Tyne|High Level Bridge]] as the main railway crossing of the [[River Tyne]].

[[Newark flat crossing]], where the ECML crosses the [[Nottingham–Lincoln line]] on the same level just north of {{rws|Newark Northgate}} station, is one of only two remaining [[Level junction|flat crossings]] in Britain, the other being on the [[Cambrian Line]] where it intersections with the [[Welsh Highland Railway]].<ref name=":0" /> Plans for [[grade separation|grade separating]] the crossing with a flyover or tunnel, which would increase capacity on both lines, have been proposed on several occasions but are complicated by costs and spatial constraints at the site.<ref>{{cite news |title=New rail flyover would be years down the line |url=https://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/new-rail-flyover-would-be-years-down-the-line-9042665/ |work=Newark Advertiser |access-date=6 February 2023 |date=20 March 2018}}</ref>

With most of the line rated for {{convert|125|mph|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} operation, the ECML was the fastest main line in the UK until the opening of [[High Speed 1]]. The high speeds are possible because much of the line is on fairly straight track on the flatter, eastern side of England, through [[Lincolnshire]] and [[Cambridgeshire]], though there are significant speed restrictions because of the line's curvature particularly north of Darlington and between Doncaster and Leeds. By contrast, the [[West Coast Main Line]] crosses the [[Trent Valley Line|Trent Valley]] and the mountains of [[Cumbria]], with more curvature and had a lower speed limit of {{convert|110|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. Speeds on the [[West Coast Main Line]] (WCML) were increased with the introduction of tilting [[British Rail Class 390|Pendolino]] trains and now match the 125{{nbsp}}mph speeds on the ECML.

==Rolling stock==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2017}}

===Commuter trains===

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
! rowspan="2" |Family
! rowspan="2" |Class
! rowspan="2" |Image
! rowspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Top speed
! rowspan="2" |Operator
! rowspan="2" |Routes
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
!mph
!km/h
|-
|rowspan=2|[[British Rail Sprinter|BR Sprinter]]
|[[British Rail Class 156|Class 156]]
|[[File:Carlisle - Arriva 156463 leaving for Newcastle.JPG|150px]]
|[[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]]
|75
|120
|[[Northern Trains]]
|{{rws|Newcastle}} to {{rws|Chathill}}
|-
| [[British Rail Class 158|Class 158]]
| [[File:158871Musselburgh.jpg|150px]]
| [[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]]
| 90
| 145
| [[ScotRail]], <br>[[East Midlands Railway]]
|[[Fife Circle Line]], [[Highland Main Line]], [[Borders Railway]]. Also between {{rws|Grantham}} and {{rws|Peterborough}} on East Midlands Railway services.
|-
| [[Bombardier Turbostar]]
| [[British Rail Class 170|Class 170]]
| [[File:Falkirk High - Abellio 170434 Glasgow service.JPG|150x150px]]
| [[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]]
| 100
| 161
| [[ScotRail]], <br>[[East Midlands Railway]]
|[[Fife Circle Line]], [[Highland Main Line]], [[Borders Railway]]. Also between {{rws|Grantham}} and {{rws|Peterborough}} on East Midlands Railway services.
|-
| [[Siemens Desiro]]
| [[British Rail Class 185|Class 185]]
| [[File:Doncaster - TPE 185106 Manchester AIrport servce.JPG|150x150px]]
| [[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]]
| 100
| 161
| [[TransPennine Express]]
| Joining the ECML at {{rws|York}} and continuing to Newcastle
|-
| [[CAF Civity]]
| [[British Rail Class 331|Class 331]]
| [[File:331001 approaching Crewe platform 1.jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
| 100
| 161
| [[Northern Trains]]
| {{rws|Leeds}} to {{rws|Doncaster}}
|-
| [[Alstom Coradia Juniper]]
| [[British Rail Class 334|Class 334]]
| [[File:334038 sits at Edinburgh Waverley, 05 April 2013.JPG|150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
| 90
| 145
| [[ScotRail]]
| [[North Clyde Line]]
|-
|[[Siemens Desiro]]
|[[British Rail Class 380|Class 380]] 
|[[File:Waverley Station trein 380111.JPG|150x150px]]
|[[Electric Multiple Unit|EMU]]
| 100
| 161
| [[ScotRail]]
|[[North Berwick Line]]
|-
| [[Hitachi AT200]]
| [[British Rail Class 385|Class 385]]
| [[File:385003 at Linlithgow.jpg|150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
|100
|161
| [[ScotRail]]
|[[North Berwick Line]]
|-
|[[Bombardier Electrostar]]
|[[British Rail Class 387|Class 387]]
|[[File:Cambridge - GTSR Great Northern 387123 empty to depot.JPG|150x150px]]
|[[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
|110
|177
|[[Govia Thameslink Railway]]
|{{rws|London|King's Cross}} to Peterborough, {{rws|Cambridge}}, {{rws|Ely}}, and {{rws|King's Lynn}}
|-
|rowspan=2|[[Siemens Desiro]]
|[[British Rail Class 700|Class 700]]
|[[File:700008 Sevenoaks to Kentish Town 2E75 (31333854845).jpg|frameless|150x150px]]
|[[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
|100
|161
|[[Govia Thameslink Railway]]
| London King's Cross to Cambridge and {{rws|Letchworth Garden City}}, Cambridge to {{rws|Brighton}} via {{rws|London Bridge}}, Peterborough to {{rws|Horsham}} via London Bridge
|-
| [[British Rail Class 717|Class 717]]
| [[File:Great Northern Class 717 Desiro City at Palmers Green June 2019 cropped.jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
| 85
| 137
|[[Govia Thameslink Railway]]
| {{rws|Moorgate}} and London King's Cross to {{rws|Welwyn Garden City}}, {{rws|Hertford North}}, {{rws|Stevenage}}, and Letchworth Garden City
|-
|}

===High-speed trains===

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
! rowspan="2" |Family
! rowspan="2" |Class
! rowspan="2" |Image
! rowspan="2" |Type
! colspan="2" |Top speed
! rowspan="2" |Operator
! rowspan="2" |Routes
|- style="background:#f9f9f9;"
!mph
!km/h
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[InterCity 225]]
| [[British Rail Class 91|Class 91]]
| [[File:Class 91 Doncaster Station.jpg|150x150px]]
 |[[Electric locomotive]]
| rowspan="3" | 125
| rowspan="3" | 200
| rowspan="3" | [[London North Eastern Railway]]
| rowspan="3" | London King's Cross to Leeds and York
|-
| [[British Rail Mark 4|Mark 4 coach]]
| [[File:Rake of VTEC Mark 4 London Kings Cross 1.jpg|150px]]
| [[Passenger car (rail)|Passenger coach]]
|-
| [[Driving Van Trailer]]
| [[File:Kings Cross - LNER 82202 rear of ecs.JPG|150px]]
| [[Control car]]
|-
| [[Alstom Coradia]]
| [[British Rail Class 180|Class 180 ''Adelante'']]
| [[File:Grand Central Class 180, Cromwell Moor.jpg|150px]]
| [[Diesel multiple unit|DMU]]
| 125
| 200
| [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]]
| Services from London King's Cross to {{rws|Sunderland}} and {{rws|Bradford Interchange}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Bombardier Voyager]]
| [[British Rail Class 220|Class 220]]
| [[File:Hugh llewelyn 220 002 (6701873995).jpg|150px]]
| [[Diesel-electric multiple unit|DEMU]]
| 125
| 200
| [[CrossCountry]]
|   Joins the ECML at either Doncaster or York and continues to Newcastle, {{rws|Edinburgh|Waverley}}, {{rws|Glasgow|Central}}, {{rws|Dundee}} and {{rws|Aberdeen}}
|-
| [[British Rail Class 221|Class 221]]
| [[File:CrossCountry Class 221, 221124, platform 5, Manchester Piccadilly railway station (geograph 4512037).jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Diesel multiple unit|DEMU]]
| 125
| 200
| [[CrossCountry]]<br>[[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]]
| Joins the ECML at either Doncaster or York and continues to Newcastle, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Dundee and Aberdeen<br>Services from London King's Cross to Bradford Interchange
|-
| rowspan="5" | [[Hitachi AT300]]
| [[British Rail Class 800|Class 800 ''Azuma'']]
| [[File:800104 at York.jpg|150px]]
| [[Bi-mode multiple unit|BMU]]
| rowspan="2" | 125
| rowspan="2" | 200
| rowspan="2" | [[London North Eastern Railway]]
| London King's Cross to Leeds, {{rws|Lincoln}}, {{rws|Hull}}, York, {{rws|Middlesbrough}}, Newcastle, Edinburgh, {{rws|Harrogate}}, Aberdeen and {{rws|Inverness}}
|-
| [[British Rail Class 801|Class 801 ''Azuma'']]
| [[File:801220 LNER Azuma Kings Cross.jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
| London King's Cross to Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh
|-
| [[British Rail Class 802|Class 802 ''Nova 1'']]
| [[File:Nova 1 in London Kings Cross 20.02.19.jpg|150px]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Bi-mode multiple unit|BMU]]
| rowspan="2" | 125
| rowspan="2" | 200
| [[TransPennine Express]] 
| Joins the ECML at York and continues to Newcastle and Edinburgh
|-
| [[British Rail Class 802|Class 802 ''Paragon'']] 
| [[File:802303 at Doncaster.jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Hull Trains]]
| London King's Cross to Hull and {{rws|Beverley}}
|-
| [[British Rail Class 803|Class 803]]
| [[File:Hitachi Newton Aycliffe. British Rail Class 803 (52032775007).jpg|150x150px]]
| [[Electric multiple unit|EMU]]
| 125
| 200
| [[Lumo (train operating company)|Lumo]]
| London King's Cross to Edinburgh
|}

==Operators==
[[File:VTEC IC225 crossing viaduct.jpg|thumb|right|A train operated by the former main provider of services on the line, [[Virgin Trains East Coast]]]]
[[File:British main lines railway diagram.png|thumb|Overview of the ECML (in blue) and other north–south mainlines in the UK]]
The line's current principal operator is [[London North Eastern Railway]] (LNER), whose services include regular long-distance expresses between London King's Cross, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East of England and Scotland. LNER is operated on behalf of the Department for Transport by a consortium of [[Arup Group]], [[Ernst & Young]] and [[SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit]], which took over from [[Virgin Trains East Coast]] on 24 June 2018.<ref>{{cite news |title=East Coast train line back under public control |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44590366 |access-date=25 June 2018 |work=BBC News |date=24 June 2018 |archive-date=24 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624205447/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44590366 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other operators of passenger trains on the line are:
* [[Govia Thameslink Railway|Great Northern]]: medium-distance services between London King's Cross, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and commuter services between Moorgate and Stevenage via either Welwyn Garden City or the [[Hertford Loop Line|Hertford Loop]].
* [[Hull Trains]]: operates five trains per day between London King's Cross and Hull and two per day between London King's Cross and Beverley on weekdays, while at weekends there are five trains per day between London King's Cross and Hull.
* [[East Midlands Railway]]: local services between Grantham and Peterborough, part of the service that runs between {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}} and {{rws|Norwich}}.
* [[CrossCountry]]: cross-country services north of {{rws|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.
* [[TransPennine Express]]: between Liverpool Lime Street and Newcastle, also between {{rws|Manchester Airport}} and {{rws|Saltburn}} before they divert off the ECML to Saltburn via {{rws|Yarm}} and Middlesbrough.
* [[Northern Trains]]: suburban services from Doncaster to Leeds and Chathill to Newcastle via {{rws|Morpeth}} and infrequent services between Newcastle and Darlington that continue to Middlesbrough and Saltburn. Services between {{rws|Selby}} and York also use the line from [[Hambleton Junction]] to York.
* [[ScotRail]]: services from Edinburgh Waverley to {{rws|North Berwick}} and {{rws|Dunbar}}.
* [[Grand Central (train operating company)|Grand Central]]: operates five daily services between London King's Cross and Sunderland, branching off the main line at Northallerton; and four daily services between London King's Cross and Bradford, branching off at Doncaster.
* [[Lumo (train operating company)|Lumo]]: operates five daily services between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, calling at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth.

[[Eurostar]] previously held the rights to run five trains a day on the line for services from mainland Europe to cities north of London, as part of the [[Regional Eurostar]] plan, which never came to fruition.<ref>{{cite news |title= 'Phantom trains' haunt drive to improve East Coast line |work=The Daily Telegraph |date= 10 April 2006 |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1515303/%27Phantom-trains%27-haunt-drive-to-improve-East-Coast-line.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130421082557/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1515303/%27Phantom-trains%27-haunt-drive-to-improve-East-Coast-line.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 21 April 2013 |access-date =17 June 2008 |location= London |first=David |last=Millward |url-access= subscription}}</ref>

The overnight [[Caledonian Sleeper]] occasionally uses the ECML when engineering works prevent it from using its normal train path on the WCML.

[[DB Cargo UK]], [[Direct Rail Services]], [[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]] and [[GB Railfreight]] operate freight services.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

==Development==

===Capacity problems===
The ECML is one of the busiest lines on the British rail network and there is insufficient capacity on parts of the line to satisfy all the requirements of both passenger and freight operators.<ref>{{cite web |title=East Coast Capacity Review |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20coast%20main%20line/east%20coast%20main%20line%202016%20capacity%20review/east%20coast%20main%20line%202016%20capacity%20review.pdf?cd=2 |website=Network Rail |access-date=12 November 2015 |page=4 |date=December 2010}}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

There are [[Traffic bottleneck|bottlenecks]] at the following locations:
* The section of twin track within a four-line section at Welwyn North over the [[Digswell Viaduct]] and through the Welwyn tunnels<ref name=bottleneck>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/11/99/track_record/regions/east.stm |title=Misery line cheers up |publisher=BBC Track Record |date=November 1999 |access-date=28 July 2009 |archive-date=7 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407121228/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/11/99/track_record/regions/east.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The twin and triple-track sections located between {{rws|Huntingdon}} and Peterborough.<ref name="Railway Development Society">{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browseDirectory.aspx?root=&dir=\RUS%20Documents\Route%20Utilisation%20Strategies\East%20Coast%20Main%20Line\East%20Coast%20Main%20Line%202016%20Capacity%20Review |title=East Coast Main Line 2016 Capacity Review |date=February 2011 |publisher=[[Railway Development Society]] |access-date=2 April 2014 |archive-date=27 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127121412/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browsedirectory.aspx?dir=%5Crus%20documents%5Croute%20utilisation%20strategies%5Ceast%20coast%20main%20line%5Ceast%20coast%20main%20line%202016%20capacity%20review&root= |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Just north of [[Newark North Gate railway station|Newark station]] at a [[Newark flat crossing|flat crossing]] with the [[Nottingham to Lincoln Line]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20coast%20main%20line/consultation%20responses/r/railfuture.pdf |title=ECML Route Utilisation Strategy: Railfuture Response |date=13 September 2007 |publisher=[[Railway Development Society]] |access-date=28 July 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* The section of double track between Stoke Tunnel and Doncaster.<ref name="Railway Development Society"/>
* The north throat of York station including Skelton Bridge Junction
* South of Newcastle to Northallerton (which is also predominately double track), leading to proposals to reopen the [[Leamside line]] to passenger and freight traffic.<ref name="Railway Development Society"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20coast%20main%20line/east%20coast%20main%20line%20rus.pdf |title=ECML Route Utilisation Strategy |pages=66, 134 |access-date=29 July 2009 |publisher=Network Rail |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529152115/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20coast%20main%20line/east%20coast%20main%20line%20rus.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Railway operations are vulnerable during high winds and there have been several de-wirements over the years due to the unusually wide spacing (up to 75 m) between the supporting masts of the overhead lines.  The other cost-reduction measure was the use of headspan catenary support systems over the quadruple track sections – as employed in the Weaver Junction to Glasgow Electrification on the WCML during the 1970s.  Headspans do not have mechanically independent registration (MIR) of each electrified road and thus are more complex to set up, compared to TTC (twin-track cantilever)<ref>{{Cite web|title=TTC {{!}} Safety Central|url=https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/jargon-buster/ttc/|access-date=31 July 2021|website=safety.networkrail.co.uk|date=19 May 2016 |archive-date=10 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810224805/https://safety.networkrail.co.uk/jargon-buster/ttc/|url-status=live}}</ref> and portal style support structures, during installation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ocs4rail.com/|title=Overhead Line Electrification for Railways – An approachable and comprehensive study of OLE for beginners and trainees|website=www.ocs4rail.com|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010174649/http://www.ocs4rail.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the event of a de-wirement of a given road, headspans result in the need to correctly set up the OLE of adjacent roads before the line can reopen to electric traction. This was a result of extreme pressure from the [[Department for Transport]] to reduce avoidable costs when the line was originally electrified between 1985 and 1990.<ref>{{cite book |title=On the wrong line: How ideology and incompetence wrecked Britain's railways |last=Wolmar |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Wolmar |year=2005 |publisher=Aurum |location=London |isbn=978-1-85410-998-9}}</ref>

===Recent developments===
[[File:Canal Tunnels Entrance Aug 2014.jpg|thumb|The Canal Tunnels' northern entrance at Belle Isle Junction]]
* The Allington Chord was constructed near [[Grantham]] in 2006, allowing services between Nottingham and {{rws|Skegness}} to call at Grantham without having to use the ECML, trains now passing under the line. This provided sufficient extra capacity for 12 additional services between Leeds and London each day.<ref>{{cite news |title=New services are just the ticket |work=BBC News |date=13 October 2005 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4337682.stm |access-date=17 December 2007 |archive-date=16 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516211449/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4337682.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Trains get 6,000 more seats a day |work=BBC News |date=21 May 2007 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6676399.stm |access-date=17 December 2007 |archive-date=2 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002232638/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6676399.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Connection of the ECML to [[Thameslink (route)|Thameslink]] at Belle Isle Jnc. via the [[Canal Tunnels]] as part of the [[Thameslink Programme]] (for [[Govia Thameslink Railway|Thameslink and Great Northern]] commuter services to extend to Brighton and Horsham).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loading... |url=https://timetables.greatnorthernrail.com/GN/#/timetables/2705/Table%20A |access-date=2 October 2024 |website=timetables.greatnorthernrail.com}}</ref>
* At the southern end of York station a short length of fourth track was installed in early 2011 at Holgate Junction with accompanying OLE and signalling systems. This work helped to remove one of the bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line. Previously, trains from Leeds would sometimes have to wait before entering the station. The improvement allows for better flow of trains in and out of the station.<ref name=RM201003p9 /><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/better-services-at-York.aspx |title=Faster trains and more services at York |date=3 January 2012 |publisher= Network Rail |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413064911/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/better-services-at-York.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="railfeb2010"/>
* Provision of a £47{{nbsp}}million grade-separated junction to the north of {{rws|Hitchin}} (the [[Hitchin flyover]]) enabling down Cambridge trains to cross the main line.<ref name=RM201003p9>{{cite magazine |editor-first=Nick |editor-last=Pigott |editor-link=Nick Pigott |date=March 2010 |title=Flyovers to go ahead at Hitchin, Ipswich, Shaftholme |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |volume=156 |issue=1307 |page=9 |location=London |issn=0033-8923 }}</ref> The work was completed by 26 June 2013<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2013/june/Passenger-services-start-using-Hitchin-flyover/ |title=Passenger services start using the Hitchin flyover |publisher=Network Rail |access-date=27 June 2013 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305023624/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2013/june/Passenger-services-start-using-Hitchin-flyover/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Major remodelling of {{rws|Peterborough}} station was completed during early 2014 providing three platform faces for services in the up direction towards London and two for ECML services travelling north on the down lines. An additional two platform faces are also available for Cross Country services to and from stations to the east of Peterborough.<ref name=RM201003p9 />
* A new [[flying junction]] just south of Joan Croft level crossing in [[South Yorkshire]] to allow freight trains from [[Immingham]] to pass over the line on their way to [[Eggborough Power Station|Eggborough]] and [[Drax Power Station|Drax power stations]], was completed in very early 2014. The project, known as the [[North Doncaster Chord]], also replaced the level crossing on a minor road with a new overbridge just to the north of the original crossing point.<ref name=RM201003p9 /><ref name="railfeb2010">{{cite news |work=Rail |location=Peterborough |issue=637 |date=10 February 2010 |title=Moving Yorkshire Forward |first=Steve |last=Broadbent |page=62}}</ref>
* Renewal and gauge enhancement of the [[Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway|Great Northern and Great Eastern Line]] which runs parallel to the ECML between Peterborough and Doncaster. This removes freight traffic from a heavily congested section of the ECML.
* A new [[York Rail Operating Centre|Rail operating centre]] (ROC), with training facilities, opened in early 2014 at the "Engineer's Triangle" in York. The ROC will enable signalling and day-to-day operations of the route to be undertaken in a single location. Signalling control/traffic management using ERTMS is scheduled to be introduced from 2020 on the ECML between London King's Cross and Doncaster – managed from the York ROC.
* An £8.6{{nbsp}}million redevelopment of Newcastle station was completed in 2014 enhancing the existing station and provide a state-of-the-art station for thousands of passengers.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-central-station-line-rail-9730057 |title=Newcastle Central Station in line for Rail Station of the Year award |first=Mike |last=Kelly |website= chroniclelive.co.uk |location= Newcastle |date=26 July 2015 |access-date=29 October 2015 |archive-date=13 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150913124132/http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/newcastle-central-station-line-rail-9730057 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Platform extensions at Stevenage, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Northallerton, Durham and Edinburgh Waverley stations for the InterCity Express Programme.
* Linespeed enhancement on the down slow line in the Fletton area (part of the ECML Connectivity programme) completed in March 2019.
* Additional 130-metre terminal platform on the down side for Hertford Loop trains at Stevenage, with an extra track from Langley Junction, was started in early 2019 and opened for use on 2 August 2020.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Modern Railways]] |date=September 2020 |pages=23 |title=Platform 5 opens at Stevenage}}</ref>
* [[Werrington Dive Under|Werrington Grade Separation]] was a £200{{nbsp}}million scheme to increase capacity north of Peterborough station by constructing a dive under to route rail traffic between the Stamford Lines and the GNGE line, thereby avoiding at-grade conflicts on the ECML. The project was approved in summer 2018.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor1-last=Milner |editor1-first=Chris |title=Network Rail prepares for £200m Werrington upgrade on ECML |magazine=The Railway Magazine |date=November 2018 |volume=164 |issue=((1,412)) |page=6 |publisher=Mortons Media |location=Horncastle |issn=0033-8923}}</ref> It was officially opened by the Rail Minister [[Chris Heaton-Harris]] on 14 December 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Werrington Dive Under Tunnel Under East Coast Main Line Opened|url=https://www.focustransport.org/2022/01/werrington-dive-under-tunnel-under-east.html|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Official opening for Werrington dive-under|url=https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/2021/12/14/official-opening-for-werrington-dive-under|access-date=1 February 2022|magazine=Rail Magazine}}</ref>
* King's Cross throat remodelling, completed in June 2021, to improve capacity and introduce higher speed turnouts reducing journey times.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 August 2018 |title=FINAL PHASE FOR KING'S CROSS REMODELLING |url=https://www.modernrailways.com/article/final-phase-kings-cross-remodelling |access-date=2 October 2024 |website=www.modernrailways.com}}</ref>

===Planned or proposed developments===
{{See also|Intercity Express Programme}}
The [[Directive (European Union)|European Union Directive]] [[Trans-European high-speed rail network|96/48/EC, Annex 1]] defines high-speed rail's minimum Speed Limit as {{convert|200|km/h|0|abbr=on}} on existing lines which have been specially upgraded.<ref name="GeneralDefinition-EU">{{cite web |publisher=[[International Union of Railways]] |url= http://www.uic.org/spip.php?article971 |title=General definitions of highspeed |access-date=13 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110720214528/http://www.uic.org/spip.php?article971 |archive-date=20 July 2011 }}</ref>

Over the years, successive infrastructure managers have developed schemes for route improvements.<ref name=route8busplan08>{{cite web |url= http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/BusinessPlan2007/PDF/Route%208%20ECML.pdf |title=Route Business Plan |year=2008 |publisher= Network Rail |access-date=21 February 2008 |archive-date=28 February 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080228130916/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/BusinessPlan2007/PDF/Route%208%20ECML.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The most recent of these is the £247{{nbsp}}million "ECML Connectivity Fund" included in the 2012 HLOS<ref>{{cite web |title=London North Eastern Route |url= http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/strategicbusinessplan/cp5/supporting%20documents/our%20activity%20and%20expenditure%20plans/route%20plans/london%20north%20eastern%20route%20plan.pdf?cd=6 |publisher= Network Rail |access-date=12 November 2015 |page=7}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> with the objective of increasing capacity and reducing journey times. Current plans include the following schemes:

* Power supply enhancement on the diversionary Hertford Loop route.
* Additional turnback facility at Gordon Hill (part of the ECML Connectivity programme).
* Re-quadrupling of the route between Huntingdon and Woodwalton (HW4T), which was rationalised in the 1980s during electrification (part of the ECML Connectivity programme). This also involves the closure and diversion of a level crossing at Abbots Ripton which was approved in November 2017.<ref>{{cite magazine |editor1-last=Harris |editor1-first=Nigel |title=Abbots Ripton crossing to close |magazine=[[Rail (magazine)|Rail]] |date=22 November 2017 |issue=380 |page=20 |location= Peterborough |issn=0953-4563}}</ref>
* Enhanced passenger access to the platforms at Peterborough and Stevenage.
* Replacement of the flat crossing at Newark with a flyover (scheme developed to GRIP Stage 2 by Jacobs).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20midlands/east%20midlands%20rus%20draft%20for%20consultation.pdf |title=East Midlands Route Utilisation Strategy Draft for Consultation |year=2009 |publisher= Network Rail |access-date=10 September 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101015151810/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20midlands/east%20midlands%20rus%20draft%20for%20consultation.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Upgrading of the Down Fast line at Shaftholme Junction from 100{{nbsp}}mph to 125{{nbsp}}mph and higher-speed associated crossovers (part of the ECML Connectivity programme).
* Modified north throat at York station to reduce congestion for services calling at platforms 9 – 11 (part of the ECML Connectivity programme).
* Freight loops between York and Darlington (part of the ECML Connectivity programme).
* Darlington station up fast line platform and future station remodelling as part of HS2.
* Fitment of TASS balises and gauging/structure works proposed by the open-access operator GNER (Alliance Rail) to enable tilt operation of Pendolino trains north of Darlington station, supporting its aspirations for express 3hr43min London to Edinburgh services.

And on a more route-wide basis the following projects:

* Power supply upgrades (PSU) between Wood Green and Bawtry (Phase 1 – completed in September 2017) and Bawtry to Edinburgh (Phase 2), including some [[overhead line|overhead lines (OLE)]] support improvements, rewiring of the contact and catenary wires, and headspan to portal conversions (HS2P) which were installed at Conington in January 2018. This will include installation of static frequency converter ([[Frequency changer]]) technology at Hambleton Junction and [[Marshall Meadows Bay]] area.
* Level-crossing closures between King's Cross and Doncaster: As of July 2015 this will no longer be conducted as a single closure of 73 level crossings but will be conducted on a case-by case basis (for example, Abbots Ripton Level Crossing will close as part of the HW4T scheme).<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.thetimes.com/article/network-rail-backtracks-on-crossings-closures-jbfzf5cqkxf |title=Network Rail backtracks on crossings closures |date=4 July 2015 |first=Graeme |last=Paton |newspaper=The Times |location= London |access-date=2 August 2015 |archive-date=24 November 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151124184908/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article4487902.ece |url-status=live |url-access= subscription }}</ref>
* Increasing maximum speeds on the fast lines between Woolmer Green and Dalton-on-Tees up to 140{{nbsp}}mph (225{{nbsp}}km/h) in conjunction with the introduction of the InterCity Express Programme, level-crossing closures, ERTMS fitments, OLE rewiring and the OLE PSU – estimated to cost £1.3{{nbsp}}billion (2014). This project is referred to as "L2E4" or London to Edinburgh (in) 4 Hours. L2E4 examined the operation of the IEP at 140{{nbsp}}mph on the ECML and the sections of track which can be upgraded to permit this, together with the engineering and operational costs.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/18359/ecml-june-2-hearing-transcript-final-for-publication.pdf |title=Office of Rail and Road, Transcript of Track Access Applications, 12th June 2015 |year=2015 |publisher=ORR |access-date=12 August 2015 |archive-date=10 December 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151210223643/http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/18359/ecml-june-2-hearing-transcript-final-for-publication.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In June 2020 it was reported that the UK government would provide £350{{nbsp}}million to fund the UK's first digital signalling system on a long-distance rail route. The signalling is to be fitted on a 100-mile (161{{nbsp}}km) section of the East Coast Main Line between King's Cross, London, and Lincolnshire, which will allow trains to run closer together and increase service frequency, speed and reliability. The first trains are expected to operate on the East Coast Main Line using this digital signalling technology by the end of 2025, with all improvements scheduled for completion by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web |title=East Coast Digital Programme |url= https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/east-coast/east-coast-digital-programme/ |access-date=2 October 2024 |publisher= Network Rail}}</ref>

==Accidents==
The ECML has been witness to a number of incidents resulting in death and serious injury:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Date
! Killed
! Injured
!class="unsortable"| Note
|-
||[[Welwyn Tunnel rail crash]]||{{dts|9 June 1866}}||2||2||Three-train collision in tunnel, caused by guard's failure to protect train and signalling communications error
|-
||[[Hatfield rail crash (1870)]]||{{dts|26 December 1870}}||8||3||Wheel disintegrated causing derailment killing six passengers and two bystanders
|-
||[[Abbots Ripton rail disaster]]||{{dts|21 January 1876}}||13||59||''[[Flying Scotsman (train)|Flying Scotsman]]'' crashed during a blizzard.
|-
|[[Morpeth rail crash#1877 derailment|Morpeth rail crash (1877)]]||{{dts|25 March 1877}} ||5||17||Derailment caused by faulty track.
|-
||[[Thirsk rail crash (1892)]]||{{dts|2 November 1892}}||10||43||Signalman forgot about a goods train standing at his box and accepted the Scotch Express onto his line.
|-
|[[Grantham rail accident]]||{{dts|19 August 1906}}||14||17||Runaway or overspeed on junction curve causing derailment – no definite cause established.
|-
|[[Cramlington Miners Strike derailment]]||{{dts|10 May 1926}}||||2||The Flying Scotsman was derailed by a group miners during the General Strike between Cramlington and Annisford.
|-
|[[Welwyn Garden City rail crash]]||{{dts|15 June 1935}}||14||29||Two trains collided due to a signaller's error.
|-
|[[King's Cross railway accident]] ||{{dts|4 February 1945}} ||2 ||26 ||Train slipped on gradient and rolled back into station.
|-
|[[Browney rail crash]] || {{dts|5 January 1946}} ||10 ||18 ||Northbound express hits the wreckage of a derailed goods train.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoole |first1=K. |title=The East Coast main line since 1925 |date=1977 |publisher=I. Allan |location=London |isbn=0711007802 |page=71}}</ref>
|-
|[[Potters Bar rail crash]]||{{dts|10 February 1946}}||2||17||Local train hit buffers fouling main line with wreckage hit by two further trains.
|-
|[[Doncaster rail crash (1947)]]||{{dts|9 August 1947}}||18||188||King's Cross to Leeds train was incorrectly signalled into a section already occupied by a stationary train, which resulted in a rear-end collision.
|-
|[[Goswick rail crash]]||{{dts|26 October 1947}}||28||65||Edinburgh-London ''[[Flying Scotsman (train)|Flying Scotsman]]'' failed to slow down for a diversion and derailed. [[Signal passed at danger]]
|-
|[[Doncaster rail crash]]||{{dts|16 March 1951}}||14||12||Train derailed south of the station and struck a bridge pier.
|-
|[[Goswick#History|Goswick Goods train derailment]]||{{dts|28 October 1953}}||||1||'Glasgow to Colchester' Goods train was derailed at [[Goswick]].<ref>{{cite report |url=http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=977 |title=Report on the Derailment which occurred on 28th October 1953 at Goswick in the North Eastern Region British Railways :: The Railways Archive |website=www.railwaysarchive.co.uk |access-date=15 August 2010 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514142743/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=977 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Connington South rail crash]]||{{dts|5 March 1967}}||5||18||Express train was derailed.
|-
|[[Thirsk rail crash (1967)|Thirsk rail crash]] ||{{dts|31 July 1967}} ||7 ||45 ||Cement train derailed and hit by North bound express hauled by prototype locomotive. [[British Rail DP2|DP2]]
|-
|[[Morpeth rail crash#1969 derailment|Morpeth rail crash (1969)]]||{{dts|7 May 1969}} ||6||46||Excessive speed on curve.
|-
|[[Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse]]||{{dts|17 March 1979}}||2||||Two workers killed when the tunnel collapsed during engineering works.
|-
|[[Morpeth rail crash#1984 derailment|Morpeth rail crash (1984)]]||{{dts|24 June 1984}}||||35||Excessive speed on curve.
|-
|Newcastle Central railway station collision||{{dts|30 November 1989}}||||15||Two InterCity expresses collided.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/465475.stm|title=Chronology of rail crashes|work=BBC News|access-date=28 December 2009|date=10 May 2002|archive-date=15 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215124122/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/465475.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[Morpeth rail crash#1992 accident|Morpeth rail crash (1992)]]||{{dts|13 November 1992}}||1||||Collision between two freight trains.
|-
|[[Morpeth rail crash#1994 derailment|Morpeth rail crash (1994)]]||{{dts|27 June 1994}}||||1||Excessive speed led to the locomotive and the majority of carriages overturning.
|-
|[[Hatfield rail crash]]||{{dts|17 October 2000}}||4||70||InterCity 225 derailed due to a failure to replace a fractured rail. The accident highlighted poor management at [[Railtrack]] and led to its partial re-nationalisation. The [[British Rail Class 91|Class 91]] locomotive involved in this crash was the same locomotive that was involved in the [[Great Heck rail crash]] – 91023. Following repair and refurbishment after the Great Heck rail crash, the locomotive was renumbered 91132.
|-
|[[Great Heck rail crash]]||{{dts|28 February 2001}}||10||82||A [[Land Rover Defender]] swerved down an embankment off the [[M62 motorway]] into the path of a southbound GNER Intercity 225, which then was struck by a freight train hauled by a {{brc|66}}. The [[British Rail Class 91|Class 91]] locomotive involved in this crash was the same locomotive that was involved in the [[Hatfield rail crash]] – 91023. Following repair and refurbishment, the locomotive was renumbered 91132.
|-
|[[Potters Bar rail crash|Potters Bar rail crash (2002)]]||{{dts|10 May 2002}}||7||70||Derailment caused by a badly maintained set of points. Resulted in the end of the use of external contractors for routine maintenance.
|}

==Popular culture==
[[File:cmglee London Kings Cross platform 6.jpg|thumb|[[East Coast (train operating company)|East Coast]] trains at {{rws|London|King's Cross}}]]
The cuttings and tunnel entrances just north of King's Cross appear in the 1955 [[Ealing comedy]] film ''[[The Ladykillers (1955 film)|The Ladykillers]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reelstreets.com/films/ladykillers-the/ |title=The Ladykillers film locations on reelstreets.com |access-date=27 July 2018 |archive-date=27 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727151304/http://www.reelstreets.com/films/ladykillers-the/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Also during the 1950s, the line featured in the 1954 documentary short ''[[Elizabethan Express]]''. Later, the 1971 British gangster film ''[[Get Carter]]'' features a journey from London King's Cross to Newcastle in the [[opening credits]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reelstreets.com/films/get-carter/ |title=Get Carter film locations on reelstreets.com |access-date=27 July 2018 |archive-date=27 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727172843/http://www.reelstreets.com/films/get-carter/ |url-status=live }}</ref> During 2009, the motoring show [[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]] featured a [[Top Gear Race to the North|long-distance race]], in which [[LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado|LNER A1 60163 ''Tornado'']], a [[Jaguar XK120]] and a [[Vincent Black Shadow]] competed to be the fastest vehicle to travel the full length of the line from London to Edinburgh.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.a1steam.com/2010/11/01/qtop-gearq-re-run/ |title="Top Gear" re-run! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503042723/https://www.a1steam.com/2010/11/01/qtop-gearq-re-run/ |archive-date=3 May 2018 |publisher=A1 Steam Locomotive Trust |date=1 November 2010}}</ref>

The route has been featured in several train simulator games. ''Trainz Simulator 2010'' features the route between London and York, ''Trainz Simulator 12'' extends the route to Newcastle, and ''Trainz: A New Era'' brings it all the way to Edinburgh, allowing the entire 393-mile route to be driven. [[Train Sim World]] as part of their fourth installment, features the route between Peterborough and Doncaster with the [[London North Eastern Railway|LNER]] [[British Rail Class 801|Class 801]] and [[DB Cargo UK]] [[British Rail Class 66|Class 66]] in a weathered EWS livery. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Dovetail Live |url=https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/train-sim-world/articles/article/train-sim-world-4-coming-soon#:~:text=Train%20Sim%20World%204%20will,of%20Train%20Sim%20World%204. |access-date=1 April 2024 |website=live.dovetailgames.com}}</ref>

King's Cross Station is also depicted as the starting point of the [[Hogwarts|Hogwarts Express]] in the books and films of the [[Harry Potter]] franchise. This connection is marked by a tourist attraction within the station concourse, featuring the Platform {{frac|9|3|4}} sign and a luggage trolley partially embedded in the station wall with an owl cage and suitcases on it.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burgess |first=Trish |url=https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/weekend-web-it-s-all-change-now-at-kings-cross-station-1-8459531 |title=WEEKEND WEB: It's all change now at Kings Cross station. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503042055/https://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/weekend-web-it-s-all-change-now-at-kings-cross-station-1-8459531 |archive-date=3 May 2018 |publisher=Sparding Today |date=15 April 2018}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[West Coast Main Line]]
*[[Midland Main Line]]
*[[Highland Main Line]]
*[[Great Western Main Line]]
*[[Chiltern Main Line]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Commons category|East Coast Main Line}}
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}

{{Main inter-regional railway lines in Great Britain}}
{{Railway lines in the East of England}}
{{Railway lines in the East Midlands}}
{{Railway lines in London}}
{{Railway lines in North East England}}
{{Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber}}
{{Railway lines in Scotland}}

[[Category:East Coast Main Line| ]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Bedfordshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Lincolnshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Nottinghamshire]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Barnet]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Camden]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Haringey]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Islington]]
[[Category:Electric railways in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Railway lines in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1871]]
[[Category:Railway lines in the East of England]]
[[Category:Railway lines in the East Midlands]]
[[Category:Railway lines in London]]
[[Category:Railway lines in North East England]]
[[Category:Railway lines in Yorkshire and the Humber]]
[[Category:Main inter-regional railway lines in Great Britain]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in England]]
[[Category:Standard gauge railways in Scotland]]
[[Category:Railway lines in Scotland]]
[[Category:25 kV AC railway electrification]]