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Wednesday 7 May 2025

Upgrades this weekend affecting London journeys and services between Leicester and Peterborough

Region & Route:

Eastern

| Eastern: East Midlands

Important planned engineering work taking place this weekend (10 and 11 May) will mean buses will replace trains between Bedford/Luton and London St Pancras and between Leicester and Peterborough.

The work south of Luton involves upgrading overhead lines, which power trains, as part of the wider scheme to electrify the line between London and Bedford, allowing East Midlands Railway's (EMR) bi-mode trains to run up to 125mph in the future.

This will be the seventh in a run of nine weekends of major progress for the project, which will bring smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers.

Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail, said: “We have made significant strides in recent weekend on our Midland Main Line electrification project, which will deliver more reliable, greener journeys between London and Bedford.

“This coming weekend will see further progress made on the scheme, and we are grateful for passengers for their patience and understanding during the disruption on 10 and 11 May.”

On Saturday 10 May, EMR will run an amended timetable between Sheffield/Nottingham/Corby and Luton. There will be a rail replacement bus service running between Luton and Hitchin to connect with Great Northern/Thameslink services to London.

On Sunday 11 May, EMR will have an amended timetable between Sheffield/Nottingham/Corby and Luton, with a reduced service operating between Corby and Luton. There will be a rail replacement bus service running between Luton and Hitchin to connect with Great Northern/Thameslink services to London.

No Thameslink services will run between Luton and West Hampstead Thameslink on Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 May. Trains between Bedford and Luton, and between West Hampstead Thameslink and Three Bridges/Horsham/Brighton will run to an amended timetable.

Rail replacement buses will run between:

• Luton and Harpenden
• Luton Airport Parkway and Hitchin via Luton (for connection to trains at Hitchin)
• Harpenden and Potters Bar via St Albans City (for connection to trains at Potters Bar)
• Harpenden and West Hampstead Thameslink

Passengers travelling to Luton Airport should plan ahead for their journeys as they will take longer than usual and involve a bus between Hitchin and Luton Airport Parkway station.

The same weekend, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 May, will see buses replace trains between Leicester and Peterborough.

This is due to Oakham station and level crossing being closed as Network Rail renews the railway track in this area to provide smoother journeys for passengers and avoid future maintenance disruption.

The footbridge at Oakham station will remain open during this work.

For CrossCountry, buses will replace trains between Leicester and Peterborough, calling at Melton Mowbray, Oakham and Stamford.

On Saturday 10 May, EMR’s 05.00 Nottingham to Norwich train will start later at 05.25, and not call at East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Oakham or Stamford. It will then run as scheduled from Peterborough to Norwich. There will be a rail replacement bus service between Nottingham and Peterborough calling at missing stations.

The 06.08 Nottingham to Norwich train will start at 06.37, and not call at East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Oakham or Stamford. It will then run as scheduled from Peterborough to Norwich. There will be a rail replacement bus service between Nottingham and Peterborough calling at missing stations.

On Sunday 11 May, the following additional EMR trains will run:

• The 08.15 Nottingham to Grantham, arriving at Grantham at 08.48
• The 13.25 Nottingham to Peterborough, calling at Grantham 13.58, arriving in Peterborough at 14.25

The work at Oakham station will be completed the following weekend, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May, with buses replacing CrossCountry trains between Leicester/Melton Mowbray/Oakham and Peterborough all weekend.

The first two EMR trains on Saturday 17 May (the 04.56 Nottingham-Norwich and 06.00 Nottingham-Norwich) will be diverted via Grantham. Other EMR services are unaffected.