East Coast Main LineThe East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between its southern terminus at London King's Cross station and via , , , , and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road. The main line acts as a 'spine' for several diverging branches, serving destinations such as Cambridge, , , and , all with direct services to London. In addition, a few ECML services extend beyond Edinburgh to serve , although the principal London-Glasgow route is the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail and rail freight traffic. The core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow for and was opened from 1837 to 1869.
CarlisleCarlisle (kɑrˈlaɪl , ˈkɑrlaɪl ; from Caer Luel) is a cathedral city and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Cumbria in England. It is the administrative centre of Cumberland Council which covers an area similar to the historic county of Cumberland. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a Roman settlement to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its proximity to Scotland (being located south of the current Anglo-Scottish border), Carlisle Castle and the city became an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages.
CumbriaCumbria (ˈkʌmbriə ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle. The county is predominantly rural, with an area of and a population of 500,012; this makes it the third largest ceremonial county in England by area but the eighth-smallest by population.