Infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line

The infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line comprises the tunnels, viaducts and bridges on the East Coast Main Line as well as the lineside monitoring equipment. The line is mainly quadruple track from London to Stoke Tunnel, south of Grantham, with two double track sections: one between Digswell Jn & Woolmer Green Jn, where the line passes over the Digswell Viaduct, Welwyn North station and the two Welwyn tunnels; and one between Fletton Junction (south of Peterborough) and Holme Junction, south of Holme Fen. The route between Holme Junction and Huntingdon is mostly triple track, with the exception of a southbound loop between Conington and Woodwalton. North of Grantham the line is double track except for quadruple-track sections at Retford, around Doncaster, between Colton Junction (south of York), Thirsk and Northallerton, and Newcastle.[1]

With most of the line rated for 125 mph (200 km/h) operation, the ECML was the fastest main line in the UK until the opening of High Speed 1. The high speeds are possible because much of the line is on fairly straight track on the flatter, eastern side of England, through Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, though there are significant speed restrictions because of the line's curvature particularly north of Darlington and between Doncaster and Leeds. By contrast, the West Coast Main Line crosses the Trent Valley and the mountains of Cumbria, with more curvature and a lower speed limit of 110 mph (180 km/h). Speeds on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) were increased with the introduction of tilting Pendolino trains and now match the 125 mph speeds on the ECML.

Tunnels, viaducts and bridges

Major civil engineering structures on the East Coast Main Line include:[2][3][a]

Junctions

Major junctions on the East Coast Main Line include:[2][3][i]

Notes

  1. ↑ Structures considered major are either those shown in the Sectional Appendix or that are of listed status.
  2. ↑ In England, listed buildings are either Grade I, II*, or II, and are the responsibility of Historic England.[4] In Scotland, listed buildings are either Category A, B, or C, and are the responsibility of Historic Environment Scotland.[5]
  3. ↑ 1 chain is 1⁄80 of a mile, which is 0.0125 miles or approximately 0.0201 kilometres.
  4. ↑ Calculated as (end mileage – start mileage) unless otherwise cited
  5. ↑ Mileage data is either taken directly from the National Electronic Sectional Appendix, or from a measured distance on Google Maps from another point whose mileage is in the National Electronic Sectional Appendix.
  6. ↑ There were formerly two entries for the viaduct because it spans two local authorities, one at category A and one at category B. On 1 February 2019, the category B listing was removed for clarity.[7][8]
  7. ↑ The entire railway viaduct starting at Newcastle railway station and going east to Pilgrim Street comprises five contiguous Grade II listed structures:[17]
    • Railway Viaduct Between Dean Street and Pilgrim Street;
    • Railway Arch, Dean Street;
    • Railway Viaduct Between St Nicholas Street and the Side;
    • Railway Arch South West of Black Gate;
    • Accommodation Arch and Railway Viaduct Between High Level Bridge, Castle Garth and Central Station.
  8. ↑ Only the southern portal of the tunnel is listed.[29]
  9. ↑ Junctions considered major are those mentioned in the Sectional Appendix and those that connect the ECML to another heavy railway line, rather than merely between its tracks or with sidings.
  10. ↑ Mileage data is either taken directly from the National Electronic Sectional Appendix, or from a measured distance on Google Maps from another point whose mileage is in the National Electronic Sectional Appendix.
  11. ↑ Morpeth Junction and Morpeth North Junction are freight-only.

References

  1. ↑ "Route Business Plan" (PDF). Network Rail. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Scotland Sectional Appendix" (PDF). National Electronic Sectional Appendix. Network Rail. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 "London North Eastern Sectional Appendix" (PDF). National Electronic Sectional Appendix. Network Rail. 7 March 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "What Are Listed Buildings?". Historic England. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "What is Listing?". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 "ECM8: EDINBURGH WAVERLEY STN - BERWICK (REGIONAL BOUNDARY)". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  7. 1 2 Historic Environment Scotland. "Dunglass, Viaduct (Category A Listed Building LB14731)". Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Designation Enquiry / Removal – Dunglass Viaduct". Historic Environment Scotland. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  9. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "Railway bridges near Peelwalls House (Category C Listed Building LB4)". Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Historic England. "Royal Border Bridge (Grade I) (1211052)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  11. 1 2 "ECM7: NEWCASTLE - BERWICK (REGIONAL BDRY)". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  12. ↑ Historic England. "British Rail East Coast Main Line Viaduct Over River Aln (Grade II) (1041800)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  13. ↑ The viaduct has one entry for each parish it is in:
  14. ↑ Historic England. "British Rail East Coast Main Line. Railway Viaduct Over River Wansbeck (Grade II) (1042656)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Historic England. "Railway Viaduct Over the River Blyth (Grade II) (1365310)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Historic England. "Ouseburn Viaduct With Accommodation Arch (Grade II*) (1120788)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  17. 1 2 This section consists of five contiguous entries:
  18. ↑ Historic England. "King Edward Railway Bridge (Grade II) (1242100)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  19. 1 2 "ECM5: YORK STATION - NEWCASTLE WEST JN". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  20. ↑ Historic England. "Railway Viaduct East of the Hermitage (Grade II) (1311261)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Historic England. "Railway Viaduct Over Chester Burn (Grade II) (1159006)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  22. ↑ Historic England. "Railway Viaduct and Drinking Fountain Attached (Grade II) (1322851)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  23. ↑ Historic England. "Railway Bridge, 25 Metres North East of Ricknall Mill Farmhouse (Grade II) (1159693)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  24. ↑ The viaduct has one entry for each district it is in:
  25. 1 2 "ECM1: ECML KINGS CROSS - SHAFTHOLME JN". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  26. ↑ Kelman, Leanne (2020). Railway track diagrams 2; Eastern. Frome: Trackmaps. 16B. ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
  27. ↑ Historic England. "Great Northern Railway Bridge Number 184 (Grade II) (1126894)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  28. ↑ Historic England. "Deard's End Lane Bridge (Grade II) (1492694)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
  29. 1 2 Historic England. "South Portal of Welwyn Tunnel 300 Metres North of Welwyn North Station (Grade II) (1385392)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  30. ↑ Historic England. "Welwyn Railway Viaduct (Grade II*) (1348122)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  31. ↑ "ECM4: COLTON JN - YORK STATION". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  32. ↑ "ECM3: TEMPLEHIRST JN - COLTON JN". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  33. ↑ "ECM2: SHAFTHOLME JN - TEMPLEHIRST JN". RailwayData. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  34. ↑ RailEngineer (27 April 2018). "A report of Network Rail's successful engineering works at Easter". Rail Engineer. No. 106. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
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