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Tuesday 14 Oct 2025

Track improvement work means changes to journeys, passengers advised

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Midlands

A weekend of engineering work to install new track and sleepers will affect journeys between the East Midlands and Skegness.

Passengers are advised that rail replacement buses will operate between Nottingham/Grantham and Sleaford.

Network Rail will carry out two projects on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November to improve the condition of the railway.

There will be 1.6km of new track installed at Ancaster in Lincolnshire to provide passengers with more reliable journeys. This £1.3 million investment will see jointed rail dating from the 1950s replaced with continuous welded rail – making for a smoother ride and needing less future maintenance.

New railway sleepers, which support the rails and hold them in place, will be installed at Scarrington Lane level crossing, Nottinghamshire.

The work means buses will replace trains between Nottingham/Grantham and Sleaford on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November:

• Saturday: East Midlands Railway services between Nottingham and Skegness will operate between Nottingham and Grantham, and between Sleaford and Skegness only. Connecting rail replacement buses will run between Grantham and Sleaford.
• Sunday: EMR services between Nottingham and Skegness will operate between Sleaford and Skegness only. Rail replacement buses will run between Nottingham and Sleaford. There will also be a revised timetable on Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich services. Trains will not call at Grantham, which will be served by rail replacement buses from Nottingham.

Dan Matthews, Network Rail operations director, said:

“We’re investing in the long-term reliability of the railway by upgrading the track and replacing sleepers with more sustainable materials. These improvements will help deliver smoother, more dependable journeys for passengers.

“We’re sorry for the disruption caused and grateful for everyone’s patience while we carry out this important work.”

Philippa Cresswell, EMR customer experience director, said:

“We recommend customers planning to travel to Skegness on either Saturday 8 or Sunday 9 November check their journey in advance, as rail replacement buses will be in place between Nottingham, Grantham and Sleaford and journeys will take longer than usual.

“On Sunday 9 November, there will also be a revised timetable between Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich.

“This work by Network Rail will help improve the reliability of our services in the long term, and we’d like to thank our customers for their patience while it takes place.”

Passengers are advised to check all parts of their journey with their train operators or National Rail before travelling.