East Coast Main Line
Introduction
The electrified portion of the East Coast Main Line runs from north from [[London King's Cross via Peterborough, York and Newcastle Central to Edinburgh Waverley. It continues further north to Aberdeen. Today East Coast Main Line trains run to Glasgow Central and Inverness.
Dates
| / /1850 | R. & W. Hawthorn East Coast Main Line completed and locomotives can be delivered directly by rail, Leith Engine Works sold. |
| / /1906 | North Eastern Railway King Edward VII Bridge over the Tyne opened. This new bridge saved East Coast Main Line trains from having to reverse at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. |
| /08/1948 | Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Edinburgh and Hawick Railway (North British Railway) Line used by expresses including the Flying Scotsman which are diverted from the East Coast Main Line due to flooding damage to the main line. |
| 11/08/1948 | North British Railway Severe flooding on the 11th and 12th washes away seven bridges and causes six landslips on the East Coast Main Line. Only part of a parapet of the Free Kirk Bridge remained where a single track was left bridging the gap. The Penmanshiel Tunnel floods, with waters reaching almost to the tunnel roof. Large amounts of silt and rubble wash over the line at Grantshouse. With the line closed trains are diverted via Kelso. |
| / /1950 | Kelso Branch (York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway) Kelso Branch (North British Railway) Edinburgh and Hawick Railway (North British Railway) Route via Kelso used by expresses diverted from the East Coast Main Line due to flooding damage to the main line. |
| 15/05/1978 | East Coast Main Line InterCity HST 125s start running on line between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. |
| / /1979 | North British Railway Blindwells Opencast Disposal Site rail served coal preparation and bunker plant opened by the East Coast Main Line (former North British Railway). Mining activity began in 1978. |
| 17/03/1979 | North British Railway The Penmanshiel Disaster closes the East Coast Main Line. A 20 metre section of the Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses resulting in the deaths of Peter Fowler and Gordon Turnbull who were working in the tunnel to increase headroom for 8' 6'' high containers. The floor of the tunnel was being dug out and lowered. Diversion of East Coast trains via Carlisle was required. The tunnel was abandoned and sealed. A deviation was to be opened to the west. |
| 05/06/1979 | Caledonian Railway Cobbinshaw [2nd] (temporary) signal box opened to control northbound line. This provided extra capacity while the East Coast Main Line was closed due to the Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse. |
| 10/11/1981 | Caledonian Railway Cobbinshaw [2nd] (temporary) signal box closed. This had provided extra capacity while the East Coast Main Line was closed due to the Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse. |
| 20/03/1988 | Easter Road Deviation (North British Railway) Loop from Abbeyhill Junction to Lochend South Junction to Piershill Junction falls into disuse after the remodelling of Abbeyhill Junction in connection with the electrification of the East Coast Main Line. |
| /03/1996 | Great North Eastern Railway Awarded East Coast Main Line franchise. |
| /04/1996 | Great North Eastern Railway Begins running the East Coast Main Line franchise using Class 91s and Mk4 trails to Glasgow and Leeds, and HSTs to Hull, Aberdeen and Inverness. (And also the Class 89 for Leeds and Bradford.) |
| 08/12/2007 | Great North Eastern Railway Franchise runs its last trains on the East Coast Main Line. |
| 09/12/2008 | National Express East Coast Takes over the East Coast Main Line franchise from Great North Eastern Railway. |
| 30/03/2010 | North British Railway Two landslips at Grantshouse close the East Coast Main Line. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis orders an independent review of transport's response to severe winter weather (in England). |
| 18/07/2013 | Hitachi Rail Europe Hitachi Rail Europe wins a £1.2 billion contract to build 270 carriages for Class 800s at a new Hitachi Rail Europe Newton Aycliffe factory in County Durham, which will start production in 2016. The Class 800s are to enter use on the East Coast Main Line in 2019. |
| 13/11/2014 | Hitachi Rail Europe The first of 122 Class 800 trainsets for the East Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line was unveiled at Hitachi's factory at Kasado in southwest Japan. |
| / /2016 | North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway Doubling of the single track section of the East Coast Main Line from Usan Signal Box to Montrose (over the Rossie Viaduct and South Esk Viaduct) planned at a cost of £200M. Doubling of this section was previously announced in 2008. |
| 17/08/2018 | Caledonia Works ScotRail First HST arrives in Scotland by the East Coast Main Line following refurbishment by Wabtec Rail of Doncaster Works for ScotRail. |
| 11/03/2019 | Hitachi Rail Europe 'Azuma' (Japanese for East) Class 800s cleared for use with London North Eastern Railway on the East Coast Main Line. |
