Press release -
Less than a week to go: Vital upgrades between London St Pancras and Bedford from 21 December
Network Rail has issued the following press release to highlight festive engineering work. There will be no Thameslink trains between Harpenden and London from Saturday 21 December to Sunday 29 December. This includes several working days. Additionally, there is this press release about the closure of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and Herne Hill from 25-29 December and this press release about work in the Cambridge area which means there will be no trains between Royston and Cambridge North or Cambridge from 27 December to 5 January.
Passengers are advised to plan ahead as essential upgrades on the Midland Main Line will disrupt services to and from London St Pancras this Christmas.
Rail tracks will be closed between London St Pancras and Harpenden for nine consecutive days (Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 December), with no Thameslink trains south of Harpenden, and no East Midlands Railway (EMR) services south of Bedford.
The work is part of a larger project to enhance rail reliability and allow EMR trains to run more sustainably.
Network Rail teams will be working on a wide range of major improvements including upgrading the overhead lines that power trains, replacing a bridge deck at Agar Grove in Camden, North London, and installing a new bridge for Radlett’s Strategic Freight Interchange.
Passenger services will be severely disrupted while this work is taking place and customers are being encouraged to plan their whole journey, including connections, as soon as possible.
For the latest travel advice, full details on alternative routes and rail replacement bus services, passengers are urged to visit:
Mark Budden, route director for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “With less than a week to go until the work begins, we strongly encourage passengers to check their travel plans in advance, as engineering work will affect several routes throughout December.
"While these essential upgrades may cause temporary disruption, it will result in faster, smoother, and more reliable journeys for passengers in the future.
"Christmas is the ideal time to carry out this work with minimal impact, as fewer people are travelling. Whilst that is beneficial for an engineering perspective we do recognise that passengers are still needing to travel for work and to visit friends and relatives over the Christmas season. We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding during this vital work.”
Jenny Saunders, customer services director for Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “We know how important this time of the year is to our customers, which is why, with such a lengthy period of improvement work planned over the festive period, some of which are working weekdays, we want people to plan ahead. It really is vital to consider your options now, allow plenty of extra time for your journey and check the latest before you set out for the station. Thank you for your patience.”
Philippa Cresswell, customer service director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London between Saturday, 21 and Sunday, 29 December to check their journeys in advance by looking for updates on the EMR website.
“We are working closely with other operators to keep customers moving throughout the festive period; however, journey times will be significantly longer than normal with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst these vital engineering upgrades take place. This work will directly benefit our customers in the future, allowing the introduction of our new Aurora bi-mode trains.”
Neil Thompson, chief operations officer at London Luton Airport, said: “Passengers travelling to and from London Luton Airport by rail between 21-29 December are advised to plan their route in advance and allow extra time for their journey.
"LLA’s excellent connectivity means there are alternative public transport options for the airport and those travelling to the terminal by car can choose from a range of parking, pick-up and drop-off options, including directly in front of the terminal. As ever, our teams will be working hard to deliver a simple and friendly passenger experience for everyone passing through the airport over Christmas.”
Further information on the engineering work over Christmas can be found here.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Changes to train services
Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 December:
East Midlands Railway (EMR): No trains will run between London St Pancras and Bedford. Passengers travelling north from London St Pancras will need to take a train from London Euston to Milton Keynes. Rail replacement buses will run between Milton Keynes and Bedford where passengers can join EMR services to Corby, Nottingham and Sheffield.
Thameslink: No trains will run between London St Pancras and Harpenden.
Rail replacement buses will be in operation between:
- Luton Airport Parkway and Hitchin
- Harpenden, St Albans City and Potters Bar
- London St Pancras and Harpenden
A shuttle train service will run between Harpenden and Bedford.
Additionally, between Friday 27 – Sunday 29 December, there will be no Thameslink trains between London St Pancras and London Bridge.
Trains to and from London Euston station will be extremely busy. For a more comfortable journey please travel before 24 December or after 2 January.
Vital engineering work
Engineers working on the Agar Grove project which began in May 2024, will replace the full bridge deck on the bridge over the railway near St Pancras. Work will start after the last train on Friday 20 December and the railway will re-open in the early hours of Monday 30 December. No trains can run under the structure while the work is being carried out. Teams will also be continuing work to replace overhead power lines as part of the South of Bedford upgrade. This work will allow all trains, including EMR’s new rolling stick run up to 125mph between St Pancras and Bedford later in 2025.
Separate to Network Rail’s work, SEGRO have been constructing a new bridge which will be slid underneath the tracks on the Midland Main Line. This is part of the enabling work on Radlett Strategic Rail Freight interchange which will allow freight trains to access the site in the future.
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For more information, contact the press office on 0203 750 2031.
Govia Thameslink Railway
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:
- Thameslink – cross-London services between Bedford/Peterborough/Cambridge and Brighton/Horsham/East Grinstead, and between Luton/St Albans and Sutton/Wimbledon/Rainham; plus services between London and Sevenoaks
- Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn
- Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)
- Gatwick Express – fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria
www.southernrailway.com, www.thameslinkrailway.com, www.gatwickexpress.com, www.greatnorthernrail.com
