PASSENGERS travelling between the North-East and London will not be allowed to travel unless they have a seat reservation to enforce social distancing rules.

London North East Railway (LNER), which operates services between Edinburgh, Newcastle, Darlington, York and the capital, said the rules would be introduced next week.

It comes as the Government eased some lockdown restrictions earlier this week, including the ability to return to work, but only if conditions 'allow' for social distancing measures.

LNER said it was ramping up services from Monday and said the safety of staff and passengers remained its 'top priority.'

A spokesperson said: "The safety of our staff and customers is always our top priority.

"To support social distancing for customers who do need to travel with us at this time, all LNER services will be reservation-only from Monday."

To enforce the rules, LNER said it was asking passengers to ignore their reserved seat and to sit in a window seat, with one person per row of four seats, and two empty rows between each passenger.

People travelling as a household will be allowed to sit together but must maintain "a safe distance" from other passengers.

The rules are coming into force as transport operators were urged by the Government to rearrange, remove or limit seating "to try and ensure social distancing is observed".

The guidelines mean operators must include blocking off seats in close proximity to others and removing face-to-face seating.

Passengers are asked to keep a two-metre distance from other people where possible and to wear a face covering.

Services across the rail network will be increased from around 50% of the normal timetable to 70% on Monday, as part of the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) is urging passengers to avoid non-essential travel after recording a rise in journey planning of nearly a quarter this week.

It said 3.7 million journeys were planned between Sunday and Thursday, compared with three million over the same period one week earlier.

Passengers are being asked to drive, cycle or walk to their destinations instead of using public transport.

The RDG warned that the capacity of trains will be restricted to as little as 10% of the normal number of people who travel.

RDG director of nations and regions Robert Nisbet said: "We need people's help to keep trains clear for those who really need them, so we are asking people to consider alternatives like cycling or walking, and if that's not possible, to travel