EDINBURGH TO CARLISLE

Travel in the cab of a Class 397 Nova 2 of TransPennine Express from Edinburgh Waverley to Carlisle along the West Coast Main Line at speeds of up to 110 mph. The five-car electric multiple unit entered service in November 2019 and provides a backbone of the company’s cross-border routes up the west coast.
From Edinburgh Waverley we head past the dominating edifice of Edinburgh Castle to the former headquarters of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway at Haymarket Station. We branch south-west, initially on the most contested piece of track in Britain, to join the Caledonian Railway’s metals.
At Midcalder Junction we turn for Carstairs Junction to meet the tracks from Glasgow Central, before heading south for the summit at Beattock, the highest point on the line at 1016 feet. The climb may be steep at 1:99 in places, but the descent is a helter-skelter ride as we plunge downhill at 1:69.
Our only remaining stop is at Lockerbie ahead of the border crossing near Gretna. There we pass the site of Britain’s worst rail disaster at Quintinshill which claimed the lives of more than 200 in a crash during the First World War involving five trains.
Once we’re into England we reach the lowest point along the way, just 25 feet above sea level at the eastern end of the Solway Estuary, a few miles from our destination at Carlisle.
On-screen graphics display the current signal aspects and speed limits, along with the names of stations that we pass through or stop at. An animated map shows our routing. There’s full commentary throughout, but as usual, if you prefer, you can opt to silence the narration to sit back and concentrate on the relaxing sounds of the journey.