Railway Romances And The Lner Connection

LNER has searched high and low, from Scottish Highlands to the streets of London to find some of the most heart-warming railway romances. Couples Angela and Victor, Jess and Andrew, and Natt and Nick all found love on the lines and are sharing their special stories this Valentine’s Day.  

With a route stretching for almost a thousand miles along the East Coast Main Line, LNER is proud to have played its role as cupid’s arrow struck.  

Natt and Nick 

Natt and Nick’s romance is a modern love story. Meeting online through their passion for the railways, the pair were studying in Durham and Lincoln respectively. Although more than one-hundred miles separated them, both cities are served by LNER on the East Coast Main Line, helping them to stay connected via their favourite form of transport. The couple decided that their first in-person date in 2023 would be in Durham at a nature reserve by the railway station, a peaceful place in full view of the railway lines where they watched LNER Azuma trains go by.  

Their great rail adventures since have included numerous jaunts across the country, including a walk of the East Coast Main Line between Berwick-upon-Tweed and the small Scottish village of Burnmouth in June 2023 where they witnessed the inaugural journey of the named Azuma train ‘Together’, which celebrates Pride.  

Jess and Andrew 

Jess and Andrew both studied at different universities in Edinburgh. Travelling home for Christmas during the busy festive season in December 2019, Andrew’s journey was not the one he had planned. Originally intending to travel on a different service, Andrew joined a particularly busy service where he ended up sitting next to Jess in one of the few available seats. Over the course of the journey, Jess and Andrew chatted at length, and before leaving the train, Andrew made sure to leave Jess his mobile number. In the new year, they met up for coffee and kept in touch sporadically over the next few years.  

It wasn’t until January 2022 that Jess and Andrew enjoyed their first ‘official date’ in Edinburgh. In the years that followed, love continued to blossom, and they got engaged in 2024.  

Victor and Angela 

For Victor and Angela, a journey to London brought about a chance meeting as they struck up a conversation and romance blossomed. Victor was on his way home and Angela on her way to a talk when they found themselves sitting next to each other on a journey between Darlington and London King’s Cross. After hitting it off, having promised the stranger she met on a train that she would email him, Angela dropped Victor a line. His swift reply contained, what Angela claims, was “a thousand questions” but emails turned to phone calls and then eventually an in-person ‘date’, and another LNER journey to London for Angela.  

In 2021, Victor moved up to the North of England to Hartlepool to live with Angela and the couple married in September 2024.  

Stuart Thomas, Communications Director at LNER, said: ”At LNER we like to put heart into everyone’s journey – so it’s wonderful to hear of so many stories of people finding love on our line. We’re delighted that so many couples have either met on an LNER train, or used our trains to stay connected to someone special” 

In advance of Valentine’s Day, LNER has also shared its ‘Romantic City Breaks’ destination inspiration, its guide to the destinations perfect for a romantic getaway.