EDINBURGH TO NEWCASTLE

Climb aboard this ultra-modern Class 802 Nova 1 of TransPennine Express for a trip from Edinburgh Waverley to Newcastle along the East Coast Main Line. We’ll be travelling at speeds of up to 125 miles an hour with some spectacular views of the rugged coastline as we speed our way southwards on a beautiful winter day.
Entering into service with TPE in September 2019, the bi-mode 802 comes into its own on this section of the ECML. It can be powered from the 25 kV overhead cables or by its three onboard 4-stroke 12 cylinder turbo-diesel generators. Part of the line is restricted to four electric trains at a time, so we’ll be powering up the generators to avoid exceeding the limit.
From Edinburgh to Berwick-upon-Tweed we travel on tracks originally laid by the North British Railway in 1846, before following the North Eastern Railway’s 1847 alignment through Northumberland to our destination close to the banks of the River Tyne at Newcastle Central Station.
On-screen graphics show the current signal aspects and speed limits on the way, along with the names of stations that we pass through or stop at. These aids will help us through a particularly difficult stretch for the driver when there’s a mix of speed changes with Morpeth boards in advance, complicated by the approach to an emergency speed restriction. We’ll pass the site of a fatal 1969 derailment which led to the introduction of advance speed change boards.
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.