Train services will be disrupted on the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Scotland and on the Northumberland Line over three weekends in September and October.

The disruption will affect services on the weekends of Saturday/Sunday 19th/20th, and 26th/27th September, and 3rd/4th October.

This is because of a £7 million major upgrade to track, points, drainage systems, and overhead line equipment.

During the weekends affected, some train services will still run but be diverted, resulting in longer journey times, while services calling at stations between Newcastle and Edinburgh and on the Northumberland Line will be replaced by buses.

Network Rail engineers will work through these weekends to: lay more than 3.2km of new track at Heaton North, Morpeth, and Shortridge; replace or refurbish points at Heaton North, Morpeth, Alnmouth, and Tweedmouth; and renew 1.5km of overhead line equipment.

They will also improve the track drainage at Scremerston, clear over four miles of drainage systems, carry out vegetation management, and perform mandatory safety inspections of the track, points and structures along the route.

Summary of service changes

CrossCountry: Trains will be replaced by buses between Newcastle and Edinburgh, calling at Morpeth, Alnmouth, and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER):

• No services will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed.
• An hourly train service will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Carlisle and will take longer.
• Train services will be replaced by buses to Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston, and Dunbar.

Lumo: Trains will only run between London King’s Cross and Newcastle.

Northern:

• Buses will replace trains between Northumberland Park and Ashington on Saturday/Sunday 19th/20th, and 26th/27th September; train tickets will be accepted on the Tyne & Wear Metro between Newcastle and Northumberland Park.
• Buses will replace trains between Newcastle and Morpeth/Chathill on all three weekends.

ScotRail: Services between Edinburgh and Dunbar will only be affected on Saturdays 19th and 26th September:

TransPennine Express: Train services between Newcastle and Edinburgh will be replaced by buses.

Further south on the East Coast Main Line, Network Rail will be working south of Peterborough on the East Coast Digital Programme, and recently completed major engineering work in London, which required the closure of London Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations for 22 days.

“This is a major programme of work that will help deliver a more reliable railway between Newcastle and Scotland for passengers and freight customers. These three weekends of work will see us deliver a significant package of improvements – renewing track, points, drainage and overhead line equipment across the route. By investing in this vital infrastructure now, we can improve reliability, reduce the risk of delays caused by flooding and failures, and help provide smoother, more reliable journeys for passengers and freight services. We know that engineering work causes disruption to passengers and we’re sorry to anyone whose journey will be affected. We want to thank passengers and residents for their patience while this essential work takes place.”

Gunnar Lindahl, joint operations director for Network Rail and LNER