Extra speedy services from new-look Flying Scotsman

Published on 22/05/2011 15:37

A SCOTLAND to London train company ushers in a new era today with a new timetable, while saying goodbye to an old familiar feature of its service.

The East Coast company is introducing a new Flying Scotsman service between Edinburgh and London.

At the same time, the company, run in the public sector, is doing away with the dining car,? and first-class passengers will be served complimentary food at their seats.

From today, the four-hour Flying Scotsman service will leave Edinburgh's Waverley Station each weekday at 5:40am, making only one stop - at Newcastle - and will arrive at King's Cross station in London at 9:40am.

The move is part of the biggest improvement in 20 years on East Coast, which has been criticised for its recent record of poor punctuality?. The new timetable provides 19 new services per weekday, more than three million seats per year and many faster journeys. Services from London to Harrogate will be introduced for the first time in 20 years.