East Coast Main Line disruption for Christmas Eve travellers

Passengers are being urged to check services before they travel on Christmas Eve

Engineering work is expected to disrupt rail services on the East Coast Main Line on Christmas Eve.

Services between London and Peterborough will be affected as part of a £350m digital signalling infrastructure project.

It means no LNER, Lumo, or Hull Trains services will terminate at or leave London King's Cross station on Sunday.

Grand Central will also not operate, with replacement coaches in operation between St Neots and Bedford.

Engineering works will take place between Welwyn and Hitchin in Hertfordshire as part of Network Rail's multi-million pound East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).

Project manager Sarah Hewlett, of Network Rail, said: "We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding ahead of this vital work, especially as people travel ahead of Christmas, and appreciate that their journeys will take longer than normal.

"Passengers will still be able to travel and from London, but journeys will be slightly extended. Some services may also be diverted to alternative London terminals."

Engineering work will take place over the whole weekend

Network Rail said delivering the upgrade would mean a more reliable railway, with lower emissions due to services running more efficiently.

A spokesperson on behalf of LNER, Hull Trains, Lumo, and Grand Central said: "Our teams will be working incredibly hard to keep passengers on the move and to make sure they reach their intended destination as quickly as possible while these upgrades are carried out.

"The latest travel information can be found on our websites and through our social media channels and we recommend passengers check before they travel."

There will be further ECDP work taking place over the weekends of 6, 7, 13 and 14 January, with no direct train services to and from London King's Cross, St Pancras via Finsbury Park and Moorgate.

Buses will replace trains for all stations between London and Grantham/Letchworth Garden City.

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