Roadmap to travel

The UK government has released its plan for England & Scotland coming out of lockdown.

With millions of people planning to travel to see loved ones and for staycations, we're doing everything we can to help you do it safely. This page contains our interpretation of government advice. Please visit the official government website for more information on travel in England. And here for travel in Scotland.

On this page:

Plan your post-lockdown get-away

Plan ahead with confidence with tickets on sale until 3 September 2021.

We're now in stage two of the government's reopening plan. 

When you book with LNER, you can be confident that you're getting the best ticket prices covered by our Price Promise. 

When you do travel with us, follow our government guidelines and our travel advice to stay safe.

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Stage two - Staycations begin

Stage two allows leisure travel outside of your local area but within England and Scotland, including for overnight stays.

From 12 April in England:

  • Staycations away from home are allowed, with self-contained accommodation able to reopen for single households. This includes holiday apartments but does not include hotels, B&Bs and hostels
  • All shops are allowed to open
  • Restaurants and pub gardens are allowed to serve customers sitting outside, including alcohol. Rule of six or two households will apply
  • Zoos, theme parks and drive-in cinemas can reopen.

From 16 April in Scotland:

  • Travel within mainland Scotland allowed (not across borders)

From 26 April in Scotland:

  • Cross border travel can continue
  • Hospitality venues like cafes, pubs and restaurants can open until:
    8pm indoors (no alcohol)
    10pm outdoors (alcohol permitted)
  • Tourist accommodation can open with restrictions in place
  • Indoor attractions and public buildings such as galleries, museums and libraries can open.
  • Up to 6 people from up to 3 households can socialise outdoors
  • Up to 4 people from 2 households can socialise indoors in a public place such as a café or restaurant
  • All shops, stores and close contact services can open
  • Funerals and weddings including post-funeral events and receptions can take place with up to 50 people (no alcohol)
  • Gyms can open for individual exercise – numbers extended, subject to capacity constraints
  • Takeaway food can be collected indoors.

Previous lifted restrictions

In England:

  • People can meet outside with one other household or within the rule of six, including in gardens
  • The stay at home rule has been lifted but please continue to minimise your travel as much as possible.

In Scotland:

  • Stay at home becomes stay local - keep travel to a minimum and stay local for a non-essential travel.
  • Shops open
  • University and college students return to in-person teaching
  • Hairdressers and barbers can reopen (appointment only)
  • Outdoor contact sports for 12-17 year olds resume.

Stage three - Staycations extended

Stage three continues to lift restrictions, including more domestic holiday options and entertainment.

From 17 May in England:

  • Hotels, hostels and B&Bs can reopen to household groups
  • People can meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors
  • Indoor entertainment such as museums, theatres, cinemas and children's play areas can open
  • Six people or two households can meet indoors
  • Up to 30 people can attend weddings and other life events
  • Performances and large events will be subject to limits. Indoor events can be at half capacity or 1,000 people, outdoor events can be half capacity or 4,000 people (whichever is lower). For venues with over 40,000 capacity, up to 10,000 will be allowed to attend.

From 17 May in Scotland

  • Up to 4 people from 2 household can socialise indoors in a private home or public space.
  • Hospitality venues can open until:
    • 10.30pm indoors (alcohol permitted, 2 hour dwell time)
    • 10.00pm outdoors (alcohol permitted)
  • Outdoor adult contact sport and indoor group exercise can restart
  • Cinemas, amusement arcades, and bingo halls can open
  • Small-scale outdoor and indoor events can resume subject to capacity constraints
  • Face-to-face support services (where not possible to deliver remotely) can resume
  • Universities and colleges can return to a more blended model of learning
  • Non-professional performance arts can resume outdoors
  • Communal worship open, subject to capacity constraints.

Stage four - Majority of restrictions lifted

Stage four will see the majority of restrictions lifted, with legal limits on social contact removed.

From 21 June (at the earliest) in England:

  • No legal limit on social contact
  • No legal limit on life events such as weddings, funerals and christenings
  • Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen

Early June plans in Scotland:

  • Up to 6 people from up to 3 households can socialise indoors in a home or public place
  • Up to 8 people from 3 households can socialise outdoors
  • Hospitality can remain open until 11pm
  • Attendance at events can increase numbers subject to capacity constraints
  • Indoor non-contact sport can take place
  • Increased numbers at life events and places of worship subject to stakeholder engagement.

Planned engineering until June 2021

Between March and June, there will be a reduced number of trains in and out of King's Cross and along our route.

If you're planning to travel with us during this period, it is important that you plan ahead and reserve a seat. All of our trains are reservation only. If you have bought an open ticket or purchased a ticket through another retailer, you can reserve your seat for free on our seat reservation page.

Monday 1 March 2021 through to Thursday 22 April 2021 – Check Before You Travel and Avoid Busy Periods

Long period of significant disruption with limited capacity at London King’s Cross, particularly during the morning and evening peak periods.

  • Planned disruption due to ongoing track and platform upgrades at London King’s Cross that will, when complete, improve reliability and allow faster acceleration and deceleration of our Azuma trains.
  • It will be easiest to secure a seat during the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Click here to check for quieter services.
  • All LNER Lincoln services will start and terminate at Peterborough, with no services on Sundays.
  • No daytime LNER services to or from Harrogate but an early southbound and a late northbound service will operate on all days.
  • No daytime LNER services between Retford and London King’s Cross, with services only running to or from Peterborough. Some direct services will operate in the morning and evening on all days, with some daytime direct services on Sundays.

Friday 23 through to Sunday 25 April 2021 – Do Not Travel to or from London

Three-day period of significant disruption with no trains to or from London King’s Cross for all three days, or to or from St Pancras Station via Finsbury Park on the Saturday and Sunday. LNER services will terminate at Peterborough, Stevenage (Friday only) and St Neots (Saturday and Sunday only).

  • Substantial planned disruption due to track and platform upgrade work that requires the closure of all tracks serving London King’s Cross. These upgrades will improve reliability and allow faster acceleration and deceleration of our Azuma trains.
  • On Friday 23 April, those choosing to travel will need to transfer at Peterborough or Stevenage for alternative services between St Pancras International or Moorgate.
  • On Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April, those choosing to travel will need to transfer at Peterborough or St Neots for rail replacement coaches connecting to Thameslink services between Bedford and St Pancras International.
  • Journey times will be significantly longer and should be avoided wherever possible.
  • Alternative routes will likely be very busy and should also be avoided. There is also major engineering work on the West Coast Mainline, more details on the National Rail Enquiries Future engineering work page.
  • Station specific travel advice is available at EastCoastUpgrade.co.uk.
  • If you need to travel you can create a Ticket Alert for these dates.
  • You must have a seat reservation to travel on LNER trains.

 

 

Monday 26 April 2021 through to Thursday 3 June 2021 – Check Before You Travel and Avoid Busy Periods

Extended disruption with reduced capacity at London King’s Cross during the morning and evening peak periods.

  • Planned disruption due to ongoing track and platform upgrades at London King’s Cross. These upgrades will improve reliability and allow faster acceleration and deceleration of our Azuma trains.
  • The easiest times to secure a seat will be during the day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Click here to check for quieter services.
  • All LNER Lincoln services will start and terminate at Peterborough, with no services on Sundays.
  • No daytime LNER services to or from Harrogate but an early southbound and a late northbound service will operate on all days.
  • No daytime LNER services between Retford and London King’s Cross, with services only running to or from Peterborough. Some direct services will operate in the morning and evening on all days, with some daytime direct services on Sundays.

Friday 4 and Sunday 6 June 2021 – Do Not Travel to or from London or Peterborough

Significant disruption with LNER services terminating at Peterborough and St Neots on Friday 4 June and no LNER services south of Grantham on Saturday 5 or Sunday 6 June. There will also be no trains to/ from London King’s Cross Station or to/ from London St Pancras Station via Finsbury Park.

  • Substantial planned disruption due to works to complete the installation of a new tunnel at Werrington, north of Peterborough, and to complete track and platform work at London King’s Cross. These upgrades will improve reliability and allow faster acceleration and deceleration of our Azuma trains.
  • On Friday 4 June, those choosing to travel will need to transfer at Peterborough or St Neots for rail replacement coaches connecting to Thameslink services between Bedford and St Pancras International.
  • On Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June, those choosing to travel will need to transfer at Grantham for rail replacement coaches to either Peterborough (if that is their destination) or to Thameslink services between Bedford and St Pancras International.
  • Rail replacement journey times will be substantial.
  • There will also be no connecting trains between Stamford and Peterborough from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 June.
  • Overall journey times will be significantly longer and should be avoided wherever possible.
  • Alternative routes will likely be very busy and should also be avoided. There is also major engineering work on the West Coast Mainline, more details on the National Rail Enquiries Future engineering work page.
  • Station specific travel advice is available at www.EastCoastUpgrade.co.uk.
  • If you need to travel you can create a Ticket Alert for these dates.
  • You must have a seat reservation to travel on LNER trains

Get £5 free with LNER Perks

We can't wait to welcome you back onboard our trains. That's why when you join LNER Perks we'll give you £5 credit to use in the app any time within the next 12 months – just because. You'll also benefit from exclusive perks and 2% credit for every £1 you spend on an LNER journey. 

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