Major disruption for train services between Peterborough and London this weekend

Train passengers are being warned of major disruption on rail services between Peterborough and London over the next two weekends.

Network Rail engineers will be working on the East Coast Main Line, between London King’s Cross and Peterborough, as well as between King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, and Moorgate over the weekends of the 6 / 7 January and 13 / 14 January, meaning there will be no train services between London and Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City and Stevenage via Hertford North.

There will only be an extremely limited rail replacement bus service running over the two weekends.

What works will be carried out?

During the work, teams will be carrying out further improvements to the trackwork in the area, adjusting overhead line equipment, and testing newly installed cabling and equipment that will make the new system function.

The East Coast Digital Project (ECDP) will see traditional, lineside signals removed and replaced with signalling displayed inside drivers’ cabs. The change will lead to more reliable journeys for passengers and a greener railway.

At the same time, a separate project will be focusing on improving mobile phone signal inside the tunnels at the mouth of King’s Cross station. The jointly funded project will deliver better mobile phone connectivity for passengers as they travel in and out of King’s Cross by train.

Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before travelling over the affected weekends via National Rail Enquiries or their train operator.

Upgrades will deliver ‘a more resilient, more reliable and greener railway’

Ricky Barsby, Head of Access and Integration for East Coast Digital Programme, said: “Work is progressing well on this pioneering project and we continue to prepare the way for changing the way train services operate on the East Coast Main Line.

“This work has been scheduled years in advance and while we never want to disrupt passengers’ journeys, these upgrades are vital to delivering a more resilient, more reliable and greener railway for the future.

“We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding and encourage them to check their journey before travelling.”

Further works planned for next month

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for GTR, said: "We are sorry that some of our customers travelling between London and Peterborough or King’s Lynn will have more difficult journeys during the first two weekends in January.

“We expect the rail replacement bus services over these weekends to be busy and customers may have to queue. We’re therefore encouraging our customers to leave extra time to complete their journeys – as well as checking trains before setting out for the station.

“As ever, we’d like to thank our customers for their patience while this vital work is carried out to make our rail network more reliable and resilient.”

There will be further ECDP work taking place in February between Saturday 17 and Tuesday 20, with buses replacing trains.

For more information about the planned disruption to services, visit https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/