Network Rail, Thameslink and Great Northern are advising passengers to check their journeys before travelling over the next two weekends.
Work between London King's Cross and Peterborough on the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), and between King's Cross, Finsbury Park and Moorgate, will disrupt services on 6-7 and 13-14 January. No trains will run between London and Peterborough, Letchworth Garden City or Stevenage via Hertford North.
Network Rail will also carry out upgrade work further up the East Coast Main Line line, which will affect journeys between London and Peterborough, Ely and King's Lynn.
On the two weekends, a very 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 at all stations except Hadley Wood, with an extra 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.
Ticket acceptance will be in place on the following alternative rail 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.
Network Rail will also use the opportunity to carry out further improvements to the track in the area, adjust overhead line equipment, and test newly-installed cabling and equipment.
The ECDP will replace traditional, lineside signals with signalling displayed inside drivers' cabs, making rail journeys more reliable and more environmentally-friendly.
Alongside this work, a separate project focus on improving mobile phone signal inside the tunnels at the mouth of King's Cross station, improving connectivity for passengers as they travel in and out of King's Cross by train.
Passengers can check their journey before travelling over the affected weekends via National Rail Enquiries or their train operator.
Further ECDP work will take place between Saturday 17 and Tuesday 20 February, with buses replacing trains. Further information is available via National Rail Enquiries.
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.”
