Nottingham Station work: Rail passengers told to expect disruption

Commuters face a summer of disruption with six weeks of engineering work at Nottingham's rail station.

Passengers have been warned of major service changes between 20 July and 25 August while the work takes place.

The line from Worksop to Nottingham will shut and buses will run the 10 miles to East Midlands Parkway for main line routes.

East Midlands Trains said the work is "essential" to cope with increasing demand for rail travel in the future.

The closure is part of Network Rail's £100m project to renew the railway around Nottingham.

'Punctuality and reliability'

Passengers questioned by BBC News expressed disappointment at the closure, although many recognised it as necessary.

One commuter, Emerald Salmon, said: "It's a huge inconvenience for me because it will extend my journey quite considerably.

"This train could stop in Bulwell and then link straight onto the tram which would be a lot easier."

And one woman said: "I think it's totally wrong. It's the main station for us."

During the work 143 new signals and six miles of track will be installed and a new platform built.

Chris Denham from Network Rail said: "The new platform will allow us to run more trains, more reliably through this station.

"It means we can run trains in and out of the new platform you'll no longer have to sit outside the station which will allow us to run things much more reliably."

'Relentless drive'

East Midlands Trains said it has rehearsed the replacement bus service procedure with up to 35 buses expected to leave Nottingham every hour.

Spencer Gibbon, route enhancement manager for Network Rail said: "We are conscious that this is the holiday period but this is part of a relentless drive towards punctuality and reliability."

He said the only trains running during the closure will be to Skegness on six occasions.

David Thornhill from the Nottinghamshire Campaign for Better Transport welcomed the project.

He said: "We are a little disappointed that the whole Robin Hood Line will be closed and we are going to have buses for a few weeks, but the long term benefits are going to be immense."

The closure comes at the same time as ongoing work to the A453 but Network Rail convinced Trent to change the date of the Ashes Test to avoid further disruption.