Tuesday 29 Nov 2022
Rail upgrades power ahead in the East Midlands this December
- Region & Route:
- Eastern
- | Eastern: East Midlands
This December, Network Rail is investing in the East Midlands’ railway to bring better stations, more reliable journeys and to power ahead with the Midland Main Line electrification scheme.
On Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December, the brand-new second footbridge will be lifted in at St Albans station to make it easier for passengers to move around during busy times.
Over the next two weekends (3, 4, 10 and 11 December), engineers will also be making progress on the multi-million-pound Midland Main Line electrification scheme, which will see the train-powering overhead line equipment upgraded south of Bedford.
Major work is also taking place to lower the tracks through Main Street bridge in Market Harborough to clear the way for overhead electric wires to be installed in the future. The programme supports the Government’s ambitions for decarbonisation and will ultimately deliver a more reliable, greener railway.
This will mean changes to services between Luton and London St Pancras across both weekends, as well as replacement buses between Leicester and Kettering via Market Harborough on 10 and 11 December.
Gary Walsh, East Midlands Route Director for Network Rail said: “Over the next two weekends, we’ll be powering ahead with improvements across the East Midlands to deliver a better railway for passengers and improve St Albans station.
“We’ve worked with our train operating colleagues to keep as many people moving as we can by using road replacements and diversions, so passengers should check before travelling and allow extra time for their journey.”
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Thameslink and Great Northern said: “Network Rail’s investment along this important route will bring a range of benefits for our customers, and we’ve worked closely together to minimise the short-term inconvenience over these weekends. Replacement buses will be operating to help people complete their journeys, so please plan ahead and allow plenty of extra time.”
The RMT has also announced strike action across eight dates in December and January, which is likely to cause significant disruption. Passengers can find the latest updates by visiting networkrail.co.uk/industrial-action.
Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director for EMR said: “We are asking any customers planning to travel to or from London over the next few weekends to plan ahead and allow plenty of time to complete their journeys.
“Strike action will also affect EMR services on Saturday 3 December, we will be running a significantly reduced train service on all of our routes. More details can be found on the EMR website.
“We would like to thank our passengers for their patience whilst Network Rail make progress on the electrification of the Midland Main Line and strike action is taking place.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Detailed travel information
Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December
East Midlands Railway:
- Members of Unite the Union will take strike action on Saturday 3 December. EMR will be operating significantly fewer services than usual on Saturday 3 December.
- No trains will run between Luton and London St Pancras International.
- Replacement buses will run between Luton and Hitchin, connecting with Great Northern / Thameslink services between Hitchin and London St Pancras International / London Kings Cross.
- Additionally, some trains between Corby and Luton will run between Corby and Kettering only.
Thameslink:
- No trains will run between Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink.
- Replacement buses are planned to run between:
- Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink calling at all stations via Harpenden
- Luton Airport Parkway, Luton and Hitchin, for connections with alternative Thameslink or Great Northern services to/from central London
- Harpenden, St Albans City and Potters Bar, for connections with alternative Thameslink or Great Northern services to/from central London
- Trains between West Hampstead Thameslink or Kentish Town and Gatwick Airport / Brighton / Sutton / Rainham / Horsham will run with revised times
Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December
East Midlands Railway:
- Trains will be diverted to run on alternative routes, not calling at Market Harborough. An amended service will in place on the following routes:
- Sheffield - London St Pancras International (1 train per hour).
- Nottingham - London St Pancras International (1 train per hour).
- Wellingborough - London St Pancras International (2 trains per hour on Saturdayand 1 train per hour on Sunday).
- Services to / from Sheffield / Nottingham will make additional calls at Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby.
- Replacement buses will run between Leicester and Kettering via Market Harborough.
Thameslink:
- On Saturday 10 December, after 21:00 trains between London St Pancras International and Luton and Bedford will run to an amended timetable. Passengers may need to use alternative trains to complete their journey.
- On Sunday 11 December, before 08:15, buses will replace trains between Luton and Bedford.
- In addition, to allow other un-related maintenance work to be carried out, all day on Sunday there will be no Thameslink trains running through central London. Trains will terminate at St Pancras International instead.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Louise Leighton
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
07858 375508
louise.leighton2@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.
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