Rail users warned of 'much longer' journeys during works

Passengers are advised to check their journey and plan ahead as there will be significant alterations to services between Peterborough and London King’s Cross on Sunday 15 June.

Most journeys to and from London on the East Coast Main Line will take much longer than normal, with replacement services in operation. Journeys on Saturday 14 June are not affected.

LNER will operate a reduced service starting and terminating at Peterborough. Rail replacement coaches will run between Peterborough and Bedford, where customers can join Thameslink services to London St Pancras.

Grand Central will run a reduced service from Sunderland to Peterborough, with coach connections to London King’s Cross. There will be no services to and from Bradford.

Hull Trains will have a reduced service which will divert to run to and from London St Pancras.

Lumo will operate a reduced service involving a non-stop rail replacement coach between London King’s Cross and Peterborough.

The planned engineering work is part of the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which is introducing digital signalling technology to create a more reliable, efficient and greener railway.

The project recently saw the milestone of traditional 'traffic light' signals being removed from London’s Northern City line following its switch to fully digital signalling. 

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Ricky Barsby, Network Rail head of access integration for the East Coast Digital Programme, said: “We’re continuing the rigorous programme of testing that is required ahead of the introduction of digital, in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line.

"Changing the way we signal trains will make our railway fit for the future, with more reliable and greener journeys.

“We have planned the testing carefully and this particular work will only affect journeys only on the Sunday, not the whole weekend. We thank all passengers affected for their patience and understanding.”

Colette Casey, customer experience director at LNER, said: “While major upgrades are being carried out to the East Coast Main Line, our teams will be working hard to keep customers on the move as smoothly as possible.

"We know that breaking up a rail journey is never ideal, but we would strongly encourage LNER customers to make use of the rail replacement service provided, connecting Peterborough and Bedford. This will help all customers enjoy a more comfortable journey.”    The work on Sunday 15 June will involve further system testing using Grand Central Class 180 and GTR Class 717 trains. 

Over the weekend, the team will carry out high speed running between Finsbury Park and Huntingdon to test updated transitions in and out of the Welwyn to Hitchin section.