Extra Harrogate to London rail services unveiled

More details have emerged about Harrogate's new direct rail services to London.
An example of the new Azuma trains coming to improve the Harrogate to London service.An example of the new Azuma trains coming to improve the Harrogate to London service.
An example of the new Azuma trains coming to improve the Harrogate to London service.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) will introduce new Azuma services between Harrogate and London King’s Cross from December 15.

The town will benefit from an extra five extra services each day from mid-December, offering enhanced connectivity, comfort and reliability.

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Advance tickets for the extra weekday services are now on sale on the LNER website for these additional services as well as the existing daily northbound and southbound service.

David Horne, LNER Managing Director, said: “Harrogate is an incredibly important destination for LNER, so we are delighted to be creating significantly more opportunities for business travellers, tourists and international visitors to make Harrogate an even more attractive and accessible destination. “From visiting the world-famous Harrogate Spa, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, the ever-popular tea rooms or an outdoors walk through areas of outstanding natural beauty, Harrogate and the surrounding North Yorkshire countryside offers a great range of attractions. "We are excited to be launching these revolutionary new Azuma services to help bring many more people to the town.”

New departures (additional to existing services) from Harrogate will be at 09:36, 11:36, 13:36, 15:36 and 17:36, and from London King’s Cross at 07:33, 09:33, 11:33, 13:33 and 15:33. Different times will apply on a Sunday.

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The new Azuma trains will allow LNER to provide a total of six direct Harrogate services a day in each direction, with two in each direction from mid-December serving Horsforth. This is an increase of three LNER services each day at Horsforth.

From the best ever Wi-Fi, plug sockets at every seat and more legroom in Standard class to extra space for bags, ergonomically designed seats and an excellent range of refreshments served at seat or from the Cafe Bar, the new Azuma fleet will transform the journey experience.

An innovative traffic light seat reservation system above seats in Standard and First Class will make it easier for customers to find reserved or available seats on-board.

Communities and customers at stations across the route will benefit from cleaner air and substantially lower noise pollution levels thanks to the Azuma trains being quieter than the existing fleet which will be fully replaced by June 2020.