Media centre

Thursday 19 Mar 2026

Midway milestone reached in extensive railway upgrade programme

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Coast

Passengers have been thanked for their patience at the midway point of an extensive programme of East Coast Main Line improvements.

A range of upgrades are taking place between York and Newcastle over four weekends this month, and Sunday 15 March also included important digital signalling testing carried out in Hertfordshire.

Over the next two weekends, there will be further track renewal at Low Fell, south of Newcastle, and new track and renewal of switches and crossings at Northallerton.

For most passengers travelling through the north-east during the upgrades, trains will still be running, with an hourly service using a diversionary route to connect customers between York and Newcastle, via Sunderland.

Rail replacement services will connect customers travelling to or from Darlington and Durham with trains at either York or Newcastle. Passengers are advised to allow extra time to complete their journeys.

Gunnar Lindahl, joint operations director for Network Rail and LNER, said:  

“We’re carrying out a significant package of upgrades on the East Coast Main Line to keep trains running safely and reliably for the millions of passengers who depend on the route. We appreciate this work does mean changes to weekend services, and we’re grateful to passengers for their patience while we complete these upgrades.”

Passengers using rail replacement services are reminded to only bring luggage they can carry comfortably and be mindful of transfer times between train and bus/coach.

Improvements carried out during the first two weekends (7-8 and 14-15 March) included:

• renewal of switches and crossings at Croft, south of Darlington
• new track and renewal of switches and crossings at Cowton, between Northallerton and Darlington
• track renewal at Low Fell
• 1.3km of rail renewal and removal of disused material at Aycliffe, north of Darlington
• installation of overhead line equipment and points as part of the Darlington station upgrade.

On Sunday (15 March), there was further testing in Hertfordshire between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin to progress the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).

The landmark ECDP scheme is set to introduce digitally signalled passenger trains on the main line between Welwyn and Hitchin from later this year, paving the way for more reliable, greener, and even safer journeys. The rigorous testing on Sunday involved checking the interaction between the lineside equipment, the ‘onboard’ equipment on the train, and signalling control at York Rail Operating Centre.

Ricky Barsby, Network Rail’s head of access integration, ECDP, said:

“We thank passengers for their patience while further rigorous testing work took place. We’re pleased to have completed this season of ECDP work as spring now gets under way. The work we’ve done has prepared the railway for a change in how we operate services – one that will deliver more reliable, greener and even safer services for the long term.”

Raj Patel, who heads the digital signalling team at Govia Thameslink Railway, which supplied one of the trains involved in Sunday’s test between Welwyn and Hitchin, said:

“We made excellent progress, testing integration across all the elements of the European Train Control System that underpins digital signalling. We’re looking forward to using the technology in passenger service later this year, taking us closer to full transformation of the southern section of the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross and Grantham.”