Thursday 13 Aug 2026
£4.6m engineering work planned for East Coast Main Line
- Region & Route:
- Scotland’s Railway: Scotland
A £4.6 million project to improve the reliability, resilience and long-term performance of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) will get underway next month.
The work happening between North Berwick and Dunbar will help to keep trains running smoothly for years to come on the line, which links Edinburgh Waverley to London King’s Cross.
To allow engineers to carry out improvements safely and efficiently, the line between Edinburgh and Newcastle will be closed from Saturday 19 September to Monday 21 September and from Saturday 26 September to Monday 28 September.
During the works, a kilometre of track will be renewed at Hedderwick and new drainage systems installed with a further half a kilometre of rails being replaced at Ninewar.
A project to stabilise a slope on the railway at Howburn, near Reston, will also be delivered during the closures.
On the following weekend, Saturday 3 October and Sunday 4 October, engineering work will also be taking place south of the border between Newcastle and Berwick.
During these closures, services operated by LNER, ScotRail, LUMO, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express will be affected, with rail replacement transport and some alternative rail travel options available.
Passengers are advised to plan ahead for journeys during the engineering work and check with their train operator for alternative travel options. Passengers can also check their journey at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.
Ross Moran, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “This is an important investment in the East Coast Main Line, helping us deliver a more reliable railway for passengers and freight customers travelling on essential cross-border services.
“We know the closures will be inconvenient for some passengers, and we'd like to thank them for their patience while this work takes place.
“By closing the line over weekends, our engineers can carry out a significant amount of work safely and efficiently, reducing the need for future maintenance and keeping the railway running smoothly for years to come.”
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail Press Office - Beth Franklin
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
07710221337
Beth.Franklin@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk