Network Rail says that six weekends of engineering work in the North East will allow for progress to be made at Darlington station.

From the 8th and 9th of February, work will close the line in both directions for six consecutive weekends.

Also taking place during this period will be work on demolition of the old Allerdene Bridge under the National Highway’s A1 upgrade work.

The bridge spans across the East Coast Main Line south of Newcastle, and removing the bridge needs measures to protect the line and overhead line equipment.

A new footbridge will be installed on the weekend of 22nd and 23rd February, marking a major milestone for the project.

Other work will see testing of new points, overhead line work at Darlington station and new cable laying.

Throughout the six weekends, additional work will include:

• installation of a semi-automatic track warning system between Ferryhill South and Tursdale junctions to keep workers safer
• renewal of more than half a mile of rail, sleeper and ballast at Chester-le-Street
• strengthening the ballast beneath the track at Tursdale Junction, restoring the line speed after previous rail upgrade work
• creation of walkways beside the line between Durham station and Tursdale Junction, providing safer routes for workers
• completion of 14 other smaller jobs, including track maintenance, telecoms work and preparations for Railway 200 celebrations.

LNER says that trains will run on a one train per hour basis between London Kings Cross and Newcastle and will run on a diversion route. All other services will terminate at Newcastle or York.

Grand Central will run a reduced timetable, with some trains running to York and not Sunderland. Northern and TransPennine Express say that a revised timetable will be in operation.

“We’ve reached a crucial stage in this transformational project which will deliver a significantly upgraded Darlington railway station.

“The installation of the footbridge will mark an important and visually striking milestone as we provide major improvements for passengers well into the future, while also preserving the building’s past.

“We’re sorry to passengers and residents who may be affected during this phase, but we are making every effort to minimise disruption throughout the project by carrying out as much work as possible while the line is closed.”

Luke Durston, Network Rail principal programme sponsor