Passengers along the East Coast are being urged by operators to plan journeys ahead as there could be upcoming travel disruptions due to vital reliability works in and around Durham throughout January and February.
This £6 million rejuvenation project will see the renewal of 10 points, the specialist equipment required for allowing trains to move from one section of track to another, accompanied by the replacement of up to 100 metres of track. Whilst these works are being conducted, Network Rail engineering teams will be upgrading signalling equipment and platforms at Durham station.
Upon completion of this project, passengers will have their journeys enriched with enhanced reliability and disruption reduction.
Paul Rutter, Route Director for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said:
“The work we’re doing in and around Durham in January and February will help boost reliability and provide smoother journeys for passengers.
“To allow the work to take place safely, there will be significant changes to services for five consecutive weekends, so we’d urge passengers to plan ahead via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator.”
To allow a key phase of the work to take place, there will be major changes to services on:
- Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th January
- Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd January
- Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th January
- Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th February
- Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th February
Journeys on these dates will see trains terminate at York or Newcastle, with some rail replacement services being available to keep passengers moving. LNER plan to run one train per hour between the two cities using a diversion which will add around an hour to the journey.
A statement on behalf of train operators on the East Coast route:
“We’re asking people to check before they travel to, from or through Durham station while important upgrade work takes place.
“We’ll be providing rail replacement services wherever we can to keep passengers moving, so our best advice is to plan ahead and allow extra time to compete your journey.”
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