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Thursday 22 Oct 2020

No trains to or from London King’s Cross on November weekend as Network Rail makes progress on £1.2billion East Coast Upgrade

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Coast

• Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November – there will be no services to or from London King’s Cross, Moorgate or to or from St Pancras International via Finsbury Park
• Reduced service in and out of London King’s Cross either side of this main weekend; on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November, and on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November

Network Rail and train operators on the East Coast Main Line are urging passengers to check their journeys as there will be no trains to or from London King’s Cross or Moorgate, and no Thameslink services to or from St Pancras International via Finsbury Park, on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November. There will also be a reduced service on two additional November weekends, as vital work continues on the East Coast Upgrade.

The project will bring a more modern, reliable railway with more services to meet future passenger demand. Major progress has been made in and around King’s Cross, including work towards the re-opening of a disused railway tunnel which will allow more trains to enter and exit the station, as well as improvements to the track and signalling. 

On Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, Network Rail engineers will install overhead line equipment and make further improvements to the signalling system. This work can only be done safely when there are no trains in the area. Over the weekend, the following changes to services will be in place:

• There will be no Great Northern or Thameslink services south of Potters Bar.
• Limited replacement bus services will run between Potters Bar and St Albans, where passengers can connect with Thameslink services to and from St Pancras International; and between Potters Bar, Oakwood and Cockfosters, where passengers can connect with London Underground services to and from central London. 
• On the Hertford North line, services from Stevenage will run no further south than Gordon Hill on Saturday 21 November, and there will be no train service at all on this route on Sunday 22 November. Rail replacement buses will serve closed stations on both days.

There will also be a reduced service running into London King’s Cross on the two weekends either side of this main weekend of work, as further improvements are made to install new overhead wires and replace points – the sections of track which allow trains to move from one line to another. During this time, the following changes to services will be in place:

• On Saturday 14 November, there will be a reduced service to and from London King’s Cross, with limited capacity for passengers. Services will continue to run to and from Moorgate and St Pancras via Finsbury Park.
• On Sunday 15 November, there will be a reduced service to and from London King’s Cross, with limited capacity for passengers. No trains will run to or from St Pancras via Finsbury Park and buses will replace train services on the Hertford North line.
• On Saturday 28 November, there will be a reduced service to and from London King’s Cross, with limited capacity for passengers. Services will continue to run to and from Moorgate and St Pancras International via Finsbury Park.
• On Sunday 29 November, there will be a reduced service to and from London King’s Cross, with limited capacity for passengers. Services will continue to run to and from Moorgate and St Pancras International via Finsbury Park. No trains will run on the Hertford North line with replacement buses serving closed stations.

Passengers who need to travel to London over these weekends are strongly advised to check their journey via National Rail Enquiries, at EastCoastUpgrade.co.uk or with their train operator and allow plenty of time.

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said: “This work which is taking place over weekends in November is a vital part of the East Coast Upgrade. The project will bring a more modern, reliable railway for passengers.

“We are making as much progress as possible without disrupting services, but work on the overhead line equipment and improvements to the signalling system can only be carried out safely when there are no trains in the area.

“We thank passengers for their continued patience and strongly advise those who need to travel to or from London to check their journey and allow plenty of time.”

A spokesperson on behalf of train operators on the route, which includes Thameslink, Great Northern and LNER, said: “We would like to thank passengers for their patience whilst these improvements are carried out as part of the East Coast Upgrade.

“We strongly advise people to check their journey before travelling via National Rail Enquiries, at EastCoastUpgrade.co.uk or with their train operator. Replacement buses will be running and some journeys will take longer.”

Further work is planned over the coming months and the dates of full and partial closures at King’s Cross have been announced up to June 2021. This includes an extended six-day closure between Christmas and the New Year. No services will be running to or from London King’s Cross from Friday 25 December until Wednesday 30 December. There will also be a reduced service on Thursday 24 December, and between Thursday 31 January and Sunday 3 January 2021.

Passengers can find out more so they can plan their journeys in advance at eastcoastupgrade.co.uk

People are reminded that they must wear a face covering on public transport, unless they are exempt, or they could be fined up to £6,400.

ENDS