Our festive travel guide will help you get the most out of your journeys over the Christmas and New Year period. Click here to download a PDF of our Christmas Travel Guide.
Additional Services Saturday 22 December and Sunday 23 December
We will be running the following additional services on Saturday 22 December and Sunday 23 December:
Saturday 22 December
10:18 London King’s Cross to Edinburgh
12:18 London King’s Cross to Edinburgh
15:35 Edinburgh to London King’s Cross
Sunday 23 December
09:09 London King’s Cross to Edinburgh
10:15 Edinburgh – London King’s Cross
For more details and calling points please check our Alterations Calendar.
Passengers holding any ticket valid for travel on East Coast will be able to travel on these trains, as will passengers holding EC Advance tickets booked on other trains.
Catering
Normal catering arrangements will apply on these services.
Festive First
Weekend/Festive First will be available on all these services.
Reservations
There will be no reservations on these services. Seats will be on a first come, first served basis.
Changes to the timetable
East Coast will operate revised timetables between Monday 24 December 2012 and Wednesday 2 January 2013. There will be no services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and on other days there will be changes to the normal timetable.
Please check the Timetable changes calendar before you travel for full details of services over the holiday period.
Last Services
Services on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve will finish earlier than usual. The last East Coast services to and from London King’s Cross are as follows:
Christmas Eve – London King’s Cross
Northbound
18.00 for Edinburgh
19.30 for Newcastle
20.05 for Leeds
Southbound
17.11 from Edinburgh
18.56 from Newcastle
17.15 from Leeds
(departures also available at 18.15 and
19.15 by changing at Doncaster)
New Year’s Eve – London King’s Cross
Northbound
18.00 for Edinburgh
20.00 for Newcastle
20.35 for Leeds
Southbound
16.30 from Edinburgh
17.58 from Newcastle
18.40 from Leeds
Catering
The normal CaféBAR service, offering drinks, snacks to hot and cold food, will be available to all customers throughout the period.
For customers travelling First Class, the full catering offer will be available up to and including Friday 21 December and from Monday 7 January.
From Monday 24 December up to and including Sunday 6 January a simplified offer will be available to customers in First Class over the festive period.
Over the Christmas period we'll be offering a special menu. Please check here for details of our Christmas menu changes.
Tickets and reservations
Services over the holiday period are expected to be very busy and advance reservation is strongly recommended.
For your extra comfort and convenience, on the website we now offer the facility to choose the location of your seat.
You can choose a window or aisle seat, facing or back to direction of travel, with or without a table. If you’re looking for a quiet, peaceful area in which to enjoy your journey, you can also choose the Quiet Coach.
Remember to bring your reservation and travel tickets and any applicable Railcards with you. Keep them safe at all times. Please also have Railcards available for inspection throughout your journey as ticket gates are in place at some stations and regular ticket inspections take place on board.
Changes to ticket restrictions between 21 December 2012 and 2 January 2013
On Friday 21 December, the normal restrictions on the use of Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets on northbound services leaving London King’s Cross will be lifted.
Between Saturday 22 December and Tuesday 1 January inclusive, all time restrictions on the use of Off-Peak, Super Off-Peak and Off-Peak Day tickets on services will be lifted.
Upgrade to a Festive First Ticket
You can enjoy the comfort of First Class, and the complimentary catering offer, from just £15 with a Festive First ticket upgrade. Festive First tickets will, subject to availability, be sold on board every day from Saturday 22 December 2012 to Tuesday 1 January 2013 inclusive (also on Wednesday 2 January for journeys from Scotland to England).
Customers with a valid Standard ticket/pass can upgrade to enjoy Festive First. Prices are either £15 or £25 one way, depending on your journey. You can only buy a Festive First upgrade on board, and they are subject to spaces being available.
Rewards
Please note that Rewards free tickets will not be available for travel 21 December 2012 to 2 January 2013 inclusive.
