Network Rail, Great Northern and Thameslink are urging passengers not to travel between Peterborough / Cambridge and London this weekend, as the next stage of the East Coast Upgrade begins.
Trains from Peterborough and Cambridge, which normally provide a service to Kings Cross, St Pancras or Moorgate, will only run to Potters Bar – a rail replacement bus will operate from Potters Bar.
The Saturday service between Royston and London King's Cross will not run.
Great Northern will operate a shuttle service from Welwyn Garden City to New Barnet, and between Stevenage and Gordon Hill.
Early Sunday Morning will see buses will replace trains between Stevenage and Gordon Hill.
A shuttle service will run between King's Lynn and Cambridge and on Saturday, there will also be an hourly service between Ely and Potters Bar.
Thameslink's Peterborough – Horsham and Cambridge – Gatwick Airport and Brighton services will only operate between Sussex and London Bridge.
Thameslink trains between Bedford, London and Brighton via London St Pancras will run as normal, except for Sunday trains on the St Albans – Sutton route, which will only operate between St Albans and St Pancras.
Passengers whose journey is necessary are advised to use the replacement bus service between Potters Bar and St Albans.
All these may be subject to change and passengers should check trains on https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/default.aspx
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Great Northern and Thameslink, said: “In response to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to maintain space on board for social distancing, we are already asking people to wear a face covering, avoid the busiest times of the day and think, ‘Is my journey necessary? Can I travel another way?'
“With the vital improvement work Network Rail is carrying out on 20 and 21 June on the East Coast Mainline, we would advise people not to travel at all on this part of the route. If you do have to travel on 20 or 21 June, journeys will take significantly longer than usual, so please check ahead at eastcoastupgrade.co.uk, National Rail Enquiries, or the Great Northern or Thameslink websites.”
Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said: “The COVID-19 crisis continues to bring significant challenges for the railway. However, we are working day and night to keep the railway running reliably and safely and to carry out essential work.
“On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June, we will continue with the vital £1.2 billion East Coast Upgrade programme. We've changed our working methods on site to make sure we can follow public health guidelines and carry on with this project, which will bring significant benefits for passengers.”
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More major improvements for the East Coast Main Line. It really needs it including a new underpass under construction at Werrington Junction north of Peterborough station. Keep up the good work Network Rail.
Not just Werrington Junction where a new underpass is under construction and to be completed next year that will end the bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line. And a new platform 5 under construction at Stevenage that will allow Great Northern Class 717s to terminate at Stevenage to & from Moorgate.
But also to build new flyovers and underpassEs at Selhurst Junction with East Croydon station to be moved slightly to the north with extra platforms being built and to reduce the bottleneck that has been such a nightmare for commuter travelling into & from London and the South Coast.