This coming weekend will see major works to boost the reliability of the East Coast Main Line being conducted through the services of Network Rail engineers, who will renew 750 metres of track and five sets of switches and crossings to afford trains the capacity to move between tracks.
Concurrent works over the weekend will also see the renewal of overhead line equipment which powers some rolling stock along the lines. Having these two projects carried out simultaneously will cause less overall disruption to for passengers who utilise the rail services affected by the line works.
To allow teams to conduct the work safely, there will be major changes to LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry and Lumo services throughout the weekend.
Sam MacDougall, East Coast Operations Director for Network Rail, said:
“This weekend marks the start of a major upgrade for passengers travelling to and through Newcastle. This huge package of improvements will help us offer a more modern and reliable railway for passengers, now and in the future.
“Unfortunately, in order to deliver these benefits, there will be some significant changes to services between Newcastle and Scotland. I’d like to thank passengers for their patience, apologise for any inconvenience and remind people to check before they travel.”
These projects will be conducted between Saturday 1 and Monday 10 October, delivering a better railway for passengers and future proofing the resilience of the line. The disruptions are unfortunate but necessary to ensure the safe delivery of the works.
A spokesperson on behalf of train operators on the route said:
“The work taking place at Newcastle is going to cause significant disruption for services, so we urge passengers to check their journey before travelling and follow the advice given.
“We are working hard to keep people moving, with rail replacement services and diversion routes, but this means your journey will take longer and may be busier than usual.”
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