East Coast Main Line

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The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a 393-mile long (632 km) electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road. The line was built during the 1840s by three railway companies, the North British Railway, the North Eastern Railway, and the Great Northern Railway. In 1923, the Railway Act of 1921 led to their amalgamation to form the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the line became its primary route. The LNER competed with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) for long-distance passenger traffic between London and Scotland. The LNER's chief engineer Sir Nigel Gresley designed iconic Pacific steam locomotives, including Flying Scotsman and Mallard which achieved a world record speed for a steam locomotive, 126 miles per hour (203 km/h) on the Grantham-to-Peterborough section. In 1948, the railways were nationalised and operated by British Railways. In the early 1960s, steam was replaced by Diesel-electric traction, including the Deltics and sections of the line were upgraded so that trains could run at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). With the demand for higher speed, British Rail introduced InterCity 125 high-speed trains between 1976 and 1981. In 1973, a Class 41 (an HST prototype), achieved a top speed of 143 mph (230 km/h) in a test run. In the 1980s, the line was electrified and InterCity 225 trains were introduced, which have now been largely replaced by Class 800 and Class 801 units. The November 2021 Integrated Rail Plan stated that the linespeed will be upgraded to 140 miles per hour (230 km/h). The line links London, South East England and East Anglia, with Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland and is important to their local economies. It carries key commuter traffic in north London and cross-country, commuter, local passenger services, and freight. There is currently no electrification north of Edinburgh to Aberdeen or Inverness. In 1997, operations were privatised. The primary long distance operator is London North Eastern Railway, but open-access competition on services to Northern England and Scotland is provided by Hull Trains, Grand Central and Lumo.

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