Media centre

Tuesday 5 Sep 2023

Passengers are asked to check weekend travel plans this autumn as Cambridge area engineering work continues.

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Major rail projects to improve the railway infrastructure in the Cambridgeshire area are planned to be carried out over the autumn months, affecting passenger services via Cambridge station on most weekends.

Construction of the new Cambridge South station will continue over the autumn. The new station will provide access to a growing area of high-quality employment and help relieve congestion in the local area by supporting the development of environmentally sustainable transport in Cambridge. 

In collaboration with Alstom, important engineering work to replace ageing signalling equipment is also under way. The Cambridge re-signalling project is delivering state-of-the-art signalling technology which means better reliability and reduced maintenance, while providing a platform ready for digital technologies. 

The affected autumn weekend dates are:

• Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September 2023
• Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 September 2023
• Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 October 2023
• Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 November 2023
• Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 November 2023
• Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November 2023
• Sunday 3 December 2023

Important engineering work will also be taking place between Ely, Peterborough and Kings Lynn which will affect rail services north of Cambridge on the following dates. 

• Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October 2023
• Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 October 2023
• Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 October 2023

Other planned work will also take place at the same time to make best use of the access to the railway while trains are not running to reduce overall disruption to passengers. These additional works include vital track renewals, wheel timber renewals at Manea, drainage, surveys and structures.

Impact on train services

Passengers using Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink and Cross Country services will be able to use rail replacement bus services but are likely to experience longer weekend journey times.

Passengers are advised to check all their weekend journey plans before travelling by visiting nationalrail.co.uk, or via your train operator, greateranglia.co.uk, greatnorthernrail.com, thameslinkrailway.com and crosscountrytrains.co.uk.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “There is a never a good time to close a busy railway, but to keep our construction teams safe, we have to stop trains running so that these important works can take place.

As well as the construction of Cambridge South station and the huge re-signalling renewal programme, we’re using the time on track efficiently to also undertake essential maintenance work and surveys of our infrastructure.  

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said: “This improvement work is extremely important to help maintain the safe and reliable running of the railway - we would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while this work is carried out.

“A rail replacement service will run while the work takes place and passengers are advised to check before they travel and allow more time for their journey.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “Network Rail’s major investment in the Cambridge area will mean more reliable train services and fewer delays in the future, and we thank our passengers for their patience while this vital improvement work continues.

"We’ve arranged replacement buses, but journeys via Cambridge will take considerably longer than normal during these weekends, and you might need to queue, so please plan ahead, allow plenty of extra time and check before you travel.”