Azuma Living Wall in Edinburgh

A billboard sized Azuma Living Wall is on display at Edinburgh Waverley throughout COP26 to promote rail as the most sustainable mode of motorised transport.

Over 600 individual plants from six species have been used to create the Azuma Living Wall, developed in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which has a mission to promote biodiversity and green tourism in the city of Edinburgh.

Visitors to the installation are able to take home a limited number of Scottish wildflower seeds from Arbroath to grow in their own gardens. After 12 November, the Azuma Living Wall will be derigged into sections and the plants will be donated to local schools in the area to help inspire the next generation about supporting the environment.

There’s still time to register for our Scotland Forum

White text on oxblood background stating LNER ForumOn Thursday 25 November we are hosting our annual LNER Scotland Forum, in Edinburgh (and online). Join to hear the latest from LNER, ask questions of senior members of our team and share your thoughts on how we can deliver for our destinations and communities.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00am for an expected 3:00pm finish. It is being hosted at the Radisson Blu (a short walk from Edinburgh Waverley) or you can join us online. Register by visiting the event page.

Special LNER Calendar pre-sale

Cover of LNER 2022 Calendar showing an Azuma train moving into a station in the snow with mountains in the backgroundThe hugely popular official LNER Calendar is back with a special pre-sale now open for those wishing to secure theirs before anyone else.

Featuring 12 images of the East Coast route and destinations, the 2022 Calendar is the perfect gift and celebrates destinations served by LNER.

The calendar is printed on fully recycled FSC approved silk paper and is A4 in dimension.

Easter tickets hopping onboard soon

Person in Easter Bunny suit boarding an Azuma train at London King’s Cross StationAs part of our industry-first approach to empower customers to buy tickets beyond the traditional 12 week booking horizon, LNER tickets can now be purchased for journeys up until 8 April 2022.

Tickets for the Easter holidays will go on sale soon after. Those wishing to secure the cheapest Advance fares are encouraged to set up a ticket alert so we can let them know as soon as tickets for their preferred dates go online.

Reducing the impact of set swaps

Screenshot of SMS from LNER informing a customer their reservation has been changedSometimes the train we had planned to use for a service is not available and a last-minute change to a train of a different size is needed. Known as a “set-swap” such changes can frustrate customers and cause considerable extra work for our staff as they conflict with seat reservations.

To respond to this challenge, our award-winning digital experience team is trialling a new tool that automatically maps seat reservations from the original train set to the one going to be used. This then directly communicates the change to customers using our LNER Assistant tool where we know their details, or allows customers booked through a third-party retailer to look up their individual seat change.

The trial is currently focused on set swaps on longer trains (such as a move from a 9-car to 10-car Azuma) after which our team will review feedback from our customers and colleagues to enhance the solution ahead of potential wider use.

LNER App ensures the best journey

LNER App screen showing progress of a journey from London to LeedsComplementing our friendly station and onboard teams, the LNER App is by far the best way for customers to stay up to date with the latest information on our services including platform allocations, service disruptions, set swaps and much more.

Not to mention giving access to automatic Delay Repay, our LNER Perks loyalty scheme (even if you don’t book with us) as well as trials of future benefits like Smart Save which gives all savings of split-tickets but without the hassle.