Azuma FAQs

Our new Azuma trains are being rolled out throughout 2019 across the East Coast mainline. Built using Japanese bullet train technology, they deliver smoother, quieter journeys and better value journeys.

This is part of the biggest revolution that the East Coast mainline has seen for more than thirty years. Find out more about Azuma here.

Our plan is to replace our current fleet of trains entirely within two years. We’ll be confirming the roll-out dates for stations along our route over the course of 2019. Find out when Azuma will arrive at your station here.

On an Azuma train working and relaxing will be easier all round with faster Wi-Fi, power sockets at every seat, and more space for legs, luggage and laptops for everyone.

Take a look inside the new Azuma trains.

Azuma will travel at speeds of up to 125mph. Journey times will be faster because Azuma accelerates out of stations quicker than our current fleet!

At LNER we believe that rail travel should be accessible and enjoyable for everyone, which is why we have made Azuma as accessible as our current trains. As always, our Journey Care team are happy to assist you with planning your journey, and you can see the Azuma seating plans here with wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets clearly marked.

Visit the Assisted Travel page for more information.

Yes. We'll have more trains - increasing our fleet from 45 to 65 trains. This means more than 100 more seats will be available on our most in-demand routes daily.

Depending on the train, destination, and time of journey, there will be between five, nine and 10 coaches.

Seating map

One of the great benefits of these new trains is that the space under your seat and in the luggage racks above your head is much bigger. This means cabin-bag style cases, rucksacks and handbags can be kept close to you while onboard.

Yes! There’s no change to our pet policy onboard an Azuma train.

All of our new 9-coach and 10-coach Azuma trains have four wheelchair spaces.

Our 5-coach Azuma trains have two wheelchair spaces. On long distance journeys the 5-coach trains will be doubled up to 10-coaches.

On a 9-coach Azuma there are two wheelchair spaces in Standard and also two in First Class.

On an Azuma train with 10 coaches all four wheelchair spaces are in First Class – two in coach E and two in coach M.

Not a problem! We will upgrade you to First Class if there are no Standard wheelchair spaces available. Our Assisted Travel team will arrange this upgrade for you and any assistance you require on to the train.

Absolutely. All wheelchair spaces on our trains have companion seats. There are two companion seats in Standard with the wheelchair spaces.

In the First Class coaches there is one companion seat with one wheelchair space and two companion seats with the other space.

Yes. There are priority seats throughout our Azuma trains providing more unreserved priority seats than on our existing trains. You can see these on our Azuma seat maps here.

If you have reduced mobility or are pregnant and require these priority seats, you can reserve them ahead of your journey, through our Assisted Travel team here.

Yes, you will need a member of staff at the station to deploy the ramp for boarding and alighting the train if you need step-free access.

Our new Azuma trains have a ramp that is less steep and less uncomfortable for anyone going up or down them. Speak to a member of station staff or contact our Assisted Travel team to book assistance if you need step-free access on and off our trains. Book assistance here.

Our Azuma trains have both audio and visual announcements on all trains to give you information about the stations the train is stopping at and for the safety information. This is a combination of automatic and manually triggered announcements. Pre-set announcements can be both triggered audibly and visually.

Similar to our current fleet, we are moving away from paper reservations. Azuma comes with a built in state-of-the-art reservation system using information screens to tell you where seats are available from. These are accompanied by traffic light indicators telling you whether the seat is reserved, coloured red, or available coloured green.

Azuma has a number of universally accessible toilets onboard.

• On a 9-coach train we have one in coach A and M, closest to the wheelchair spaces.
• On a 10-coach train we have them in coaches A, E, F and M – again nearest to the wheelchair spaces.
• On a 5-coach train, these are located in coaches A and E.

We have also incorporated the automatic voice that tells you when to lock the door and whether the door is locked. View the Azuma seat map here.

Every window on our new trains, in both Standard and First Class, has a blind that can be pulled down.

There are a number of unreserved windowless seats at the end of the coaches, if you prefer to reduce bright light and glare on your journey.

Yes. All wheelchair spaces have a plug socket to charge your mobile devices and in First Class coaches there will also be USB ports.

There’s plenty of bike storage on our new trains. The bike stores on Azuma are mostly located in the centre of the train, rather than at the far ends. When you book your bike reservation over the phone or at one of our Travel Centres, you’ll be told what coach to go to board your bike.

Find out more about cycle reservations here or view the Azuma seat maps here.

The Wi-Fi on Azuma will be even better than our current trains.  And with power sockets at every seat and USB ports in First Class you’ll be better connected than ever. Find out about the other Azuma benefits here.

Of course! With more seats than our current trains there will be more reservations available and the built in electronic seat reservations will help you find your seat onboard. If you book an Advance ticket, you’ll be given a seat reservation by default, and if you book a flexible ticket, you can choose a seat at the time of booking online, or afterwards via our Travel Centres or Customer Solutions Team.