No trains to or from London King’s Cross on September 5 and 6

To support Network Rail in delivering the East Coast Upgrade we are asking that customers do not travel to or from London on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September as work is carried out on the tracks that serve the station.

Those who have no other way to travel to will be able to change at Peterborough to alternative services as far as St Pancras International on the Saturday and Finsbury park on the Sunday.

This is part of a major upgrade to our route to enable faster, more frequent and more reliable services between London, the North and Scotland.

Further timetable uplift from 7 September

As part of our staged return of services to meet expected demand, we will deliver a further uplift in our services from Monday 7 September with the aim of introducing more seats without compromising our high levels of reliability.

This timetable will reintroduce almost all our peak services and additional services between London and Edinburgh. It will see us run around 85% of our previous service levels during the week. Weekend services will stay at a lower frequency and will be planned on a week by week basis due to Network Rail engineering works at most weekends in the Autumn.

Tickets for services running up until 2 October 2020 will be going on sale over the next week.

Easing ticket restrictions on Fridays

We have announced that we will be easing ticket restrictions on Fridays at King’s Cross and Stevenage to better spread demand throughout the day, further supporting customers in maintaining social distancing when travelling by train.

The move, which comes into full effect from this Friday, allows customers to use Super Off-Peak tickets throughout the entire day on Fridays for all services to and from London King’s Cross and Stevenage, except for customers travelling between Stevenage and London King’s Cross and vice versa.

This complements our reservation only approach as well as the fares trial still underway that replaces return tickets with singles to create a simpler choice for customers. This trial applies on London to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh services.

New LNER Mobile App

As part of our efforts to continuously improve and deliver the best possible customer experience, we have launched our new LNER Mobile App that will replace the existing Travel Buddy app.

This new app provides a new booking experience that is faster, cleaner and easier to use (and with no booking fees). The new App:

• Automatically shows customers the cheapest ticket for their journey
• Allows customers to book a socially distanced seat up to 5 minutes before scheduled departure time
• Provides live travel reminders that let customers know of any delays or changes to their journey
• Let’s customers go contactless by booking and use of eTickets on their phone, helping to keep them safe when they travel

Face coverings and exemption badges

A Yorkshire inspired face mask is the fourth design added to the LNER face covering collection, which already includes Tyne Bridge, London Eye and Edinburgh thistle designs. These reusable face masks are available for customers to purchase online with proceeds from the sale going to LNER’s official charity partner, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

The masks have been hand-sewn in Harrogate and distributed from Yorkshire as LNER continues to support communities and businesses on the East Coast.

We have also begun trialling a new scheme to support customers who are exempt from wearing face coverings. They will be able to head to an LNER station and ask for a free badge that simply states: “I’m exempt from wearing a face covering”.  The badge will alert our staff and fellow customers that the person doesn’t need to wear a mask at a station or onboard. It’s hoped that this pilot will help to reassure those customers who are exempt and those who may be concerned at seeing somebody without a face covering.

Contactless car parking to be introduced at LNER managed stations

Car parks at 10 LNER managed stations will, from October, start to use an advanced system of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), simplifying the process for customers. For the first time, customers will be able to pre-book their car parking space via a new, yet to be released, LNER Parking App or on the LNER website, taking away any stress of trying to find a space on the day of travel.

The introduction of the new system will begin in October, when the new technology and signage will begin to be installed in partnership with HUB Parking Technology. It will eventually be available across Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Retford, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, York, Darlington, Durham, and Newcastle. The new system follows the introduction of LNER’s £5 car parking offer in August at most LNER managed car parks.

If you have any questions about LNER, please let us know. We can be contacted via PublicAffairs@LNER.co.uk.

The latest coronavirus information can be found on the dedicated page on our website lner.co.uk/travel-information/coronavirus-travel-information/ and Twitter @LNER

Questions relating to tickets and personal travel should continue to be directed to our Customer Service Team.