Having eulogised over the NXEC train, now it’s time to do the same for the route it runs on, the famous East Coast Main Line or ECML
This line is probably the most well-known in railway history, as it was the location for a number of firsts and records, including the first authenticated locomotive to reach 100mph, the first non-stop run from London to Scotland and the world steam railway record, set by Mallard at 126mph and which still stands today.
Now, a lot of the praise I heaped on the Inter-City 225 is partly due to the track it runs on, of course. After all, there’s no point owning a Ferrari and driving it on a pebble beach, you won’t get the best out of it. And the same apllies to a train and its track.
But the ECML is not only well engineered and maintained, it takes in some of the most well-known locations on the railway in the UK. It starts at King’s Cross, which to many people is *the* London railway station. OK, I’m biased and would pick St Pancras, but The Cross is ingrained into the public consciousness. It’s where Harry Potter gets the Hogwarts Express. The Pet Shop Boys even named a song after it. It runs to York, home, of course, to the National Ralway Museum. Newcastle, with its iconic High Level Bridge. Beyond Newcastle, it starts to hug the North Sea coast, so close you can see the beaches,and then it opens up to one of the most stunning approaches to a station you will ever see.
The city of Berwick-upon-Tweed lays to your right. The line curves around in a graceful arc over a spectacular viaduct. As you cross, look down and you’ll see ruins of what I think is a castle, and then you roll into a wonderful small station. Just beautiful.
As you leave Berwick and continue on towards Edinburgh, the line never strays too far from the coast and
to me, never fails to impress.
All of that combined, meant an arrival at Edinburgh Waverley eight minutes early. A run of nearly four hundred miles in almost four-and-a-half hours.
I’ve left Edinburgh now and am on a TransPennine Express service to Preston. This is another ‘local’ service, with a three-car diesel multiple unit (Class 185), similar to the one I caught from Manchester to Sheffield earlier. Not as comfortable though. But we left on time again, and there’s no reason to think that we won’t be on time in Preston either.
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