A project to install 565 metres of new rail will affect Midland Main Line journeys on Saturday 20 September.
Services between Nottingham and Leicester will be affected, along with some Midland Main Line journeys to/from London St Pancras.
Network Rail teams will be putting down 109 pre-curved rails at Syston North Curve, along with 3,500 Pandrol clips, which hold the rail on the sleepers – essential for train stability and ride comfort.
It represents an investment of about £600,000 to improve the resilience and reliability of the railway.
Syston North Curve is a tight bend primarily used by heavy freight, which means above average wear on the rail. There is also a higher rate of issues with signalling equipment, due to the demands on insulated block joints – the joints that bolt sections of track together and separate signalling sections – for example.
A team of about 130 people will be involved in completing the work – 30 in preparation activities like delivering materials to site and 100 involved in the core track work, including machine drivers and engineering supervisors.
Dan Matthews, Network Rail operations director, said: “This investment is all about improving reliability and resilience on a key part of our railway which sees above average wear. Replacing the rail in this way reduces the chances of disruption from future maintenance issues, and completing the work over a single weekend minimises the number of affected journeys as best we can.
“We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding, and we’re sorry if their journeys on 20 September take longer than usual.”
Trains between Nottingham and Leicester will run to an amended timetable and will not call at Barrow-upon-Soar, Sileby or Syston. Rail replacement buses will run between Leicester and Loughborough, serving these stations.
Some early morning Nottingham-Norwich services and long-distance services to/from London St Pancras will run earlier or later than the usual timetable..
Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel on Saturday 20 September to check their journey in advance. Information about the changes to services can be found on the EMR website.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst Network Rail carry out this essential infrastructure works. This will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable journeys to and from London.”
Image credit: Network Rail