Passengers reminded to check before travelling as further upgrade …

Thursday 14 Dec 2023

Passengers reminded to check before travelling as further upgrade work takes place on Christmas Eve

Region & Route: Eastern ^[1] | Eastern: East Coast ^[2]

Network Rail and train operators are reminding passengers to plan ahead and check before travelling as further upgrade work for the billion-pound East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) takes place on Christmas Eve.

The project will see traditional, lineside signals replaced with signalling displayed inside drivers’ cabs, which will lead to more reliable journeys for passengers and a greener railway.

On Christmas Eve, work continues to focus on the stretch between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin and will see further installation and testing of key equipment in preparation for trains to operate using digital signalling in this area from 2025.

The work means that there will be changes to train services, with no LNER, Lumo, or Hull Trains services terminating at or departing from London King’s Cross station. Grand Central will be operating no services.

LNER will be operating a reduced service starting and terminating at St Neots or Peterborough. Rail replacement coaches will run between St Neots and Bedford, where customers can join EMR or Thameslink services to London St Pancras. LNER services will also finish earlier than usual ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Hull Trains will be running a reduced train service of one train in each direction which will divert and terminate in London St Pancras. Lumo services will only operate between Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Passengers are urged to check their journey before travelling via National Rail Enquiries or their train operator.

Sarah Hewlett, Network Rail’s Programme Manager for East Coast Digital Programme, said: “The East Coast Digital Programme will transform the way trains operate on the East Coast Main Line and will result in a more reliable, resilient, and greener railway for our passengers.

“We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding ahead of this vital work, especially as people travel ahead of Christmas, and appreciate that their journeys will take longer than normal.

“We’re reminding passengers to check their journey before they travel via National Rail Enquiries or through their train operator.”

A spokesperson on behalf of LNER, Hull Trains, Lumo, and Grand Central said: “Our teams will be working incredibly hard to keep passengers on the move and to make sure they reach their intended destination as quickly as possible while these upgrades are carried out.

“The latest travel information can be found on our websites and through our social media channels and we recommend passengers check before they travel.”

There will be further ECDP work taking place over the weekends of 6/7 and 13/14 January, with no direct train services to and from London King’s Cross, St Pancras via Finsbury Park and Moorgate. Buses will replace trains for all stations between London and Grantham/Letchworth Garden City.

Notes to Editors

There will be opportunity to interview Sarah Hewlett about the ECDP work at Peterborough station on Thursday 22 December. Please contact: [email protected] and / or [email protected] to arrange an interview.^[3]^[4]

Digital signalling

Digital signalling, using ETCS is a proven technology already in use in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. The ECDP will see the first introduction of ETCS to an intercity mainline in Great Britain, and will provide the foundation for the future expansion of digital signalling across the network. ETCS is currently in use in the central London section of Thameslink and on the Cambrian Line in Wales, and now on the Northern City Line (Finsbury Park to Moorgate), in the first stage of ECDP.

More reliability: With signalling information being provided directly to the driver, via a screen in their cab, there will no longer be a need to maintain a large amount of lineside equipment involved with traditional ‘traffic light’ signals. As a result, the amount of signalling-related engineering work will reduce in the future by around almost half. Additionally, trains are sometimes affected by signal failures; moving to a modern, digitally based system makes this less likely, potentially reducing thousands of hours of delays, and making train services more reliable.

More punctual services: Digital signalling gives train drivers continual information about the safe maximum speed for their train. It provides drivers with additional information about the route ahead, that today’s fixed ‘traffic light’ signals do not. This enables more ‘efficient’ operations, helping trains stay on time. The new technology allows continuous communication between the trackside and onboard equipment. Signallers can continuously communicate with every train on the network and respond in real time using digital tools to help smooth the flow of trains and recover services more quickly after disruption.

Greener journeys: Digital signalling contributes to a greener railway. The East Coast Main Line is already electrified, and these upgrades will deliver a further 55,000 tonne reduction in carbon emissions over 60 years – the equivalent to over 65,000 one-way flights from London to New York, or over 2 million passenger train journeys from London to Edinburgh. This is because there is much less physical equipment to produce and maintain compared with what’s needed for ‘traffic light’ signals. The estimated whole life carbon saving over a 60-year period (the expected life span of a ‘traditional’ signalling system) is around 39%. The technology also allows gentler braking, meaning journeys are smoother and use less energy. Finally, a more reliable and punctual railway will encourage more people to choose rail over road and air, ultimately reducing transport emissions for the long-term.

For further information about the ECDP please visit www.eastcoastdigitalprogramme.co.uk ^[5]

Service information

LNER information: https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/travelling-later/timetables/ ^[6]

Sunday 24 December – Christmas Eve

There will be no LNER services to or from London King’s Cross as a result of essential upgrades to signalling between London and Peterborough. LNER services will terminate at either St Neots or Peterborough and finish much earlier than usual.

Please plan ahead and check before you travel if you are travelling on the East Coast Mainline on Christmas Eve.

LNER will run an hourly service, in both directions, between Leeds and St Neots and an hourly train service each way between Scotland and St Neots
Customers travelling to or from Central London or Stevenage can take a rail replacement coach service between St Neots and Bedford and connect to either EMR or Thameslink services to/from London St Pancras (LNER tickets will be accepted on this journey)
Impacted journeys will involve a rail replacement coach service and take significantly longer than usual (at least 60 minutes)

Last train times

Customers are reminded that the last train services to and from St Neots will be earlier than usual.

Last northbound LNER train services from St Neots

16.59 to Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley
19.00 to York
19.54 to Leeds

Last southbound LNER train services to St Neots

14.30 from Edinburgh Waverley
15.59 from Newcastle
16.59 from York
17.16 from Leeds

Hull Trains information: https://www.hulltrains.co.uk/travel-information/engineering-works ^[7]

Hull Trains will be running a reduced service of one train in each direction between Hull and London St Pancras, calling at Brough, Howden and Selby.

You can find details of the service at the link above.

Lumo information: https://www.lumo.co.uk/plan-your-journey/planned-engineering-works ^[8]

Lumo will be running a reduced service between Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle only on Christmas Eve.

For full details, including an amended timetable, click the link above.

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track ^[9], 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts ^[10] and the thousands of signals ^[11], level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations ^[12] while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies ^[13].

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 ^[14], so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan ^[15], 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.

References

^{^} Eastern (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^{^} Eastern: East Coast (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^{^} [email protected] (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^{^} [email protected] (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)
^{^} www.eastcoastdigitalprogramme.co.uk (www.eastcoastdigitalprogramme.co.uk)
^{^} https://www.lner.co.uk/travel-information/travelling-later/timetables/ (www.lner.co.uk)
^{^} https://www.hulltrains.co.uk/travel-information/engineering-works (www.hulltrains.co.uk)
^{^} https://www.lumo.co.uk/plan-your-journey/planned-engineering-works (www.lumo.co.uk)
^{^} track (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} bridges, tunnels and viaducts (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} signals (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} stations (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} train operating companies (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} a safe and reliable railway (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan (www.networkrail.co.uk)
^{^} @networkrail (twitter.com)
^{^} http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/ (www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk)