Direct rail links to London from Newcastle and Sunderland halted for two weekends - LNER, Lumo and Grand Central trains affected

Network Rail is advising people to plan ahead and check before they travel ahead of consecutive weekends of planned engineering work.

Services will be affected and London King’s Cross station closed on January 25 and 26, then again on and February 1 and 2, as rail network bosses say vital improvements are made to the track, drainage and overhead lines which power trains.

Preparatory work is also taking place as part of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which will deliver more reliable, greener journeys through the introduction of in-cab digital signalling, Network Rail said.

There will be no direct trains to and from London King’s Cross on both weekends, with LNER operating a reduced service to Peterborough where rail replacement coaches will transfer passengers to Bedford, allowing them to use Thameslink services to connect to London St Pancras.

Grand Central will be operate a reduced service from Sunderland to Peterborough, with coach connections to King’s Cross. There will be no services to and from Bradford.

Hull Trains will have two trains per day in each direction running to and from St Pancras rather than King’s Cross, and Lumo’s reduced service will involve a non-stop rail replacement coach between King’s Cross and Peterborough.

EMR services to and from London St Pancras are expected to be extremely busy and customers are advised to use Thameslink services and interchange at Bedford for rail replacement services to Peterborough.

Also, there will be no Thameslink or Great Northern services between London and Peterborough, Royston and Stevenage via Hertford North. Further details can be found here.

Simon Pumphrey, Network Rail infrastructure director, said: “The work our teams will be carrying out over both these weekends goes well beyond regular maintenance tasks.

“This work is carefully planned to maximise the time when there are track closures, allowing us to undertake several projects at once and avoiding more frequent track closures.

“We’re sorry to passengers affected by the disruption and thank them for their patience as we make improvements that will help make the railway more reliable.”

A spokesperson on behalf of LNER, Hull Trains, Lumo and Grand Central, said: “Customers are advised to plan ahead and check before they travel, with the latest journey details available on our websites and social media feeds.

“Our colleagues will be on hand to help people’s journeys run as smoothly as possible through both weekends while this work takes place.”

The engineering work includes renewing the line north of Stevenage, investment in bridge timbers south of Finsbury Park and, at Welwyn Garden City, upgrading switch and crossing equipment which allows tracks to separate, cross and rejoin.

Tunnel drainage work will be undertaken Hadley Wood, and there will be improvements to the overhead line equipment at Biggleswade and Bounds Green.

Under-track cables will be installed between Biggleswade and Peterborough to prepare for digital in-cab signalling, under the £1.4 billion ECDP project. It follows further testing of the new signalling system being carried out between Welwyn and Hitchin during the Christmas shutdown.

Check all parts of your journey with National Rail Enquiries or your train operators before travelling.