The Anonymous Widower

Lumo Will Extend Its King’s Cross And Edinburgh Service To Glasgow

This article on the BBC is entitled New Train Services Approved On East Coast Main Line.

This is the sub-heading.

Additional train services will run on the East Coast Main Line from December, the rail regulator has said.

This will be the additional services for Lumo according to this document from the Office of Road and Rail.

• Lumo (Newcastle): one additional return service between London King’s Cross and Newcastle on weekdays and one additional service in opposing directions on a Saturday and Sunday.
• Lumo (Glasgow extensions): the extension of existing London King’s Cross-Edinburgh services so that Lumo can provide two northbound services and one southbound service between London King’s Cross and Glasgow on weekdays and one in each direction on Sundays.

I have some thoughts.

Train Lengths

The Office of Road and Rail document doesn’t mention train lengths.

• Hull Trains have been running most services as five-car trains, with some running as ten-car trains.
• In Ten-Car Hull Trains, I talked about Hull Trains and their mixing of 5- and 10-car trains and how it increased the number of seats on the route by 16.7 %.

I suspect that Lumo will use pairs of trains on some services to increase and also balance the number of seats.

A Possible Timetable

Consider.

• Currently, there are five Northbound trains every day with five Southbound trains on Monday to Saturday and four on Sunday.
• Lumo seem to run a reliable service.
• Would it be a safe and sensible idea to base the new timetable on the current timetable?
• Perhaps, the Glasgow services could be add-ons to the current timetable.

So it looks to me, that the extra trains will be scheduled using an innovative timetable.

• I wouldn’t be surprised if the Glasgow to London King’s Cross train was a pair of trains in the evening to balance the service and get two trains to London King’s Cross for the start of the next day’s services.
• This would also give travellers as long a day as possible in Glasgow.
• Would the two London King’s Cross to Glasgow trains, start as a pair of trains at London King’s Cross that split at Edinburgh, with one train returning to London King’s Cross and the other going on to Glasgow?
• Glasgow gets ten cars per day from London King’s Cross and sends ten cars back to London King’s Cross.
• Could the Sunday services both be a pair of trains?

The only new paths needed for the service, would be.

• Two between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• One Southbound between Glasgow and London King’s Cross at the end of the day.

Otherwise the main timetable is as it is now.

How Long Will London King’s Cross and Glasgow Take?

Consider.

• The fastest Lumo trains take around 4 hours and 23 minutes between London and Edinburgh.
• The fastest ScotRail trains take around 50 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street stations.

I would expect a time of around 5 hours and 13 minutes is possible.

This is slower than the typical 4 hours and 31 minutes of Avanti West Coast between Euston and Glasgow Central stations, but improvements to the signalling may reduce the time that Lumo takes between London and Edinburgh.

What Time Are The Last Train From Glasgow and Edinburgh To London?

These would appear to be the last trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London.

• The last Avanti West Coast train would appear to be the 18:40 from Glasgow Central, which gets in to London Euston at 23:40.
• The Caledonian Sleeper leaves at 23:40 from Glasgow Central, which gets in to London Euston at 07:00.
• The last LNER train for London King’s Cross, would appear to be the 19:37 from Edinburgh, which gets in to London King’s Cross at 01:14.
• The last LNER train for Leeds, would appear to be the 21:00 from Edinburgh, which gets in to Leeds at 00:42.
• The last LNER train for Newcastle, would appear to be the 22:00 from Edinburgh, which gets in to Newcastle at 01:14.
• The Caledonian Sleeper leaves at 23:40 from Edinburgh, which gets in to London Euston at 07:00.

Note.

1. The timetable seems to assume, that if you are spending a day in Edinburgh or Glasgow and need to return to London, you will use the Caledonian Sleeper.
2. Unless you use the Sleeper, you can’t see an evening football match and easily go home to anywhere South of Edinburgh.
3. One of the last trains to arrive in London King’s Cross station is the 19:58 Lumo service from Edinburgh, which arrives at 01:00 in London King’s Cross station.
4. Surprisingly, London King’s Cross station seems to have several trains moving in and out all night.

There’s certainly a large gap in the evening, where an extra service could run between Glasgow and London King’s Cross.

I wonder how late Lumo could bring a train into King’s Cross station?

• I came in once to King’s Cross  at about 01:30 and still got a taxi home.
• There are also lots of 24-hour buses.
• There is little or no car parking.

I still think Lumo will operate a train as late as Network Rail will allow them.

Could Passengers Sleep In Lumo’s Seats?

I’ve certainly managed it. But then I’ve never had a problem falling asleep.

Does The Extended Service To Glasgow Pass The Granny’s Birthday Test?

Suppose it’s your granny’s birthday and you want to go to her family party, which is in the afternoon.

You should be able to take a morning train up to Glasgow and then take the late train back afterwards.

Conclusion

Lumo have spotted a gap in the timetable and they intend to fill it.

 

 

 

July 30, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 800 Train, Class 803 Trains, Edinburgh Station, Euston Station, Glasgow Central Station, Glasgow Queen Street Station, Hull Trains, King's Cross Station, LNER, Lumo, Lumo King's Cross And Glasgow