Media centre

Tuesday 27 Aug 2019

Network Rail and train operators thank passengers as full train service resumes on East Coast Main Line

Region & Route:

Eastern

Network Rail and train operators along the East Coast Main Line have today (Tuesday, 27 August) thanked passengers for their patience and understanding as major work took place over the Bank Holiday weekend. A full train service on the East Coast Main Line has now resumed. 

On Saturday, 24 and Sunday, 25 August, Network Rail engineers worked round the clock to upgrade signalling between King’s Cross station, Cambridge and Peterborough.  This phase of work has now completed and has created a more reliable railway which is more resilient in times of disruption. Engineers also carried out work to overhead power lines in readiness for improvements to the track layout and the power supply, which will take place at a later stage of the £1.2billion investment. Network Rail workers also made good progress on a major project to install a new platform at Stevenage station.

Work to renew a level crossing in Newark continued on Monday, 26 August meaning that a reduced service ran. This work has also now completed and will mean passengers will benefit from a more reliable railway and reduce the number of times maintenance at the crossing needs to be carried out. 

Network Rail and train operators worked together to keep passengers informed of the changes to services. The rail industry put on buses for passengers and Network Rail arranged for a relief train to run between Chesterfield and York on Sunday. when crowding was expected to be the worst. This was done to minimise disruption for passengers. 

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said: “Our engineers carried out a huge amount of work over the last three days and I would like to take this opportunity to thank travellers for their patience whilst this vital work took place and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

“A full train service has now resumed following work on the East Coast Upgrade, which is a huge investment into the railway and will bring significant benefits for all users of the route. Such significant upgrades do bring some unavoidable disruption and we do understand that this can be frustrating. We will continue to plan this work meticulously and do as much work as possible without affecting passengers, and when this is not possible, make sure we carry out multiple improvements at the same time.”

A spokesperson for train operators along the route said: “We are working closely with Network Rail on the East Coast Upgrade and we would like to express how grateful we are to passengers for their patience and understanding. A full service has now resumed and we will continue to work collaboratively as a rail industry to keep disruption to a minimum.”

Further closures are planned from early 2020 and Network Rail and train operators will keep passengers informed. The latest information can be found at eastcoastupgrade.co.uk

ENDS