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Engineers installing digital signalling between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin
Engineers installing digital signalling between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin

Press release -

Planned upgrades to affect Great Northern and Thameslink services on two consecutive weekends in early January

Network Rail have issued the following press release about planned engineering work affecting Great Northern and Thameslink services over two January weekends:

Network Rail, Thameslink and Great Northern are reminding passengers to check their journey before travelling as further engineering work is carried out on two weekends in early January as part of the billion-pound East Coast Digital Programme.

  • Work is progressing well on the billion-pound East Coast Digital Programme with upgrades being carried out further up the East Coast Main Line line, affecting journeys between London and Peterborough, Ely and King’s Lynn
  • No trains will run between London and Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City or Stevenage via Hertford North on 6 / 7 and 13 / 14 January
  • A limited rail replacement bus service will be in place on these weekends
  • Passengers reminded to check their journey before travelling on the affected weekends

Network Rail engineers will be working on the East Coast Main Line, between London King’s Cross and Peterborough, as well as between King’s Cross, Finsbury Park, and Moorgate over the weekends of the 6 / 7 January and 13 / 14 January, meaning there will be no train services between London and Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City and Stevenage via Hertford North.

On the two weekends, an extremely limited rail replacement bus service will run for passengers travelling between:

  • Peterborough and Bedford (for trains to London St Pancras)
  • Peterborough and Hitchin (calling at all stations)
  • Letchworth Garden City and Hitchin
  • Luton Airport Parkway and Stevenage calling at Hitchin
  • St Albans and Hitchin calling at Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn North, Knebworth and Stevenage
  • Alexandra Palace and Welwyn Garden City calling all stations except Hadley Wood, with an additional stop at Cockfosters to connect with London Underground Piccadilly line trains*.
  • Cockfosters and Potters Bar calling at Hadley Wood*
  • Alexandra Palace and Stevenage via Hertford North

* On Sunday 7 January, due a planned Tube strike, passengers are being advised by London Underground to complete their journeys on the Piccadilly line by 17:30

Ticket acceptance will be in place on the following alternative routes:

  • Thameslink services between Bedford and London St Pancras via Luton Airport Parkway
  • Greater Anglia services between London Liverpool Street and Cambridge

Great Northern services will run between Letchworth Garden City and Cambridge, Ely and King’s Lynn.

During the work, teams will be carrying out further improvements to the trackwork in the area, adjusting overhead line equipment, and testing newly installed cabling and equipment that will make the new system function.

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

At the same time, a separate project will be focusing on improving mobile phone signal inside the tunnels at the mouth of King’s Cross station. The jointly funded project will deliver better mobile phone connectivity for passengers as they travel in and out of King’s Cross by train.

Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before travelling over the affected weekends via National Rail Enquiries or their train operator.

Ricky Barsby, Head of Access and Integration for East Coast Digital Programme, said: “Work is progressing well on this pioneering project and we continue to prepare the way for changing the way train services operate on the East Coast Main Line.

“This work has been scheduled years in advance and while we never want to disrupt passengers’ journeys, these upgrades are vital to delivering a more resilient, more reliable and greener railway for the future.

“We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding and encourage them to check their journey before travelling.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for GTR, said: "We are sorry that some of our customers travelling between London and Peterborough or King’s Lynn will have more difficult journeys during the first two weekends in January.

“We expect the rail replacement bus services over these weekends to be busy and customers may have to queue. We’re therefore encouraging our customers to leave extra time to complete their journeys – as well as checking trains before setting out for the station.

“As ever, we’d like to thank our customers for their patience while this vital work is carried out to make our rail network more reliable and resilient.”

There will be further ECDP work taking place in February between Saturday 17 and Tuesday 20, with buses replacing trains. Further information can be found via National Rail Enquiries.

Notes to Editors

Interview Opportunity

There will be opportunity to interview Ricky Barsby about the ECDP work at Peterborough station on Thursday 4 January. Please contact: Joshua.Chapman@networkrail.co.uk and to arrange an interview.

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

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Joshua Chapman
Media Relations Manager
Network Rail
joshua.chapman@networkrail.co.uk

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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

Govia Thameslink Railway

United Kingdom