East Midlands Railway (EMR) is advising customers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling this weekend as major engineering work will mean some services will be extremely busy.
Network Rail will be carrying out significant upgrades on the East Coast Main Line and on the southern approach to Manchester Piccadilly. While this investment will improve reliability and performance in the future, journeys during half-term will look different and some routes are expected to be significantly busier than usual.
London travel – services expected to be extremely busy
This weekend (February, 21 and 22) there will be no LNER trains between London King’s Cross and Peterborough as part of digital signalling upgrades. As a result, EMR services to and from London St Pancras are expected to see more customers than usual on days where there are no trains to or from London King’s Cross.
Customers are advised that:
- A queuing system will be in place at London St Pancras for EMR services
- It may not be possible to board your intended service
- They should allow extra time at the station and consider travelling on a weekday if possible
- EMR trains on routes between Sheffield, Nottingham and London St Pancras are likely to be extremely busy, with the potential for standing room only.
- If they haven’t yet purchased tickets they should consider journeys on Friday 20 or Monday, 23 Feb
Customers who would normally travel with LNER, should follow alternative travel arrangements rather than travelling via EMR services.
LNER customers who wish to travel to or from London St Pancras should:
- Travel on Thameslink services to/from Bedford
- Change at Bedford for the dedicated rail replacement bus services to/from Peterborough
- Continue their journey from Peterborough on LNER services
- Following this advice will help provide a smoother journey for everyone.
Manchester travel – no direct EMR trains
Also this weekend there will be no EMR services north-west of Sheffield due to nearly £8 million of track, points and signalling upgrades on the approach to Manchester Piccadilly.
Customers can still travel to Manchester, but journeys will take longer and involve changes.
All EMR services will terminate at Sheffield. Customers should change at Chesterfield for replacement bus to Manchester, timed to connect with train arrivals.
Alternatively, from Sheffield travel via TransPennine Express or Northern services towards Stockport and connect to a rail replacement bus.
Philippa Cresswell, Customer Experience Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “These upgrades are essential for improving the reliability of the railway, but they do mean services will look different for customers travelling.
“Our London services are expected to be extremely busy this weekend and customers should allow extra time, particularly at St Pancras where a queuing system will be in place. They should also consider taking their trip on Friday or Monday if possible.
“We also strongly encourage customers to check their journey before travelling and to follow alternative travel advice where provided, so we can keep everyone moving as smoothly as possible this weekend.”
Image credit: iStockphoto.com/Wirestock
