On weekends in January and February, train services through Durham will be severely affected due to a £6 million engineering project.

During the work, engineers will replace ten sets of points, renew 100 metres of track, upgrade signalling equipment in the area, and improve some platforms in Durham station. These upgrades will improve reliability and reduce the disruption of services, and result in smoother journeys for passengers.

The work is scheduled to take place on each Saturday and Sunday from Saturday/Sunday 14th/15th January until Saturday/Sunday 11th/12th February. On these weekends, train services will terminate at York or Newcastle and some rail-replacement bus services will be provided between York and Newcastle.

LNER plans to run alternative services between York and Newcastle, but there will only be one train per hour and will operate via a diversion that will add about an hour to the journey.

Passengers intending to travel to Durham, Northallerton, Darlington, or Chester-Le-Street during the affected weekends should plan their journeys in advance, allow extra time, and check their journey before travelling via National Rail at National Rail Enquiries – Official source for UK train times and timetables or their train operator’s website.

Service Changes:

LNER – on all dates:

• Between Newcastle and York, coaches will replace trains and call at Northallerton, Darlington and Durham. Alternatively, one train per hour will operate via a diversion but journey times will be extended by approximately 60 minutes.
• To / from London King’s Cross, services will start / terminate at York.
• Between Scotland and Newcastle, services will start / terminate at Newcastle.

Passengers should check their journey details at https://www.lner.co.uk/

Lumo – all dates:

• Trains will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh only.

Grand Central – on Saturdays:

• The 17:30 Sunderland to London King’s Cross service will not call at Thirsk. A rail replacement bus service will operate between Thirsk and Northallerton.
• The 19:27 London King’s Cross to Sunderland service will run later than usual between Thirsk and Sunderland.

Grand Central – on Sundays:

• Trains from Sunderland to London King’s Cross will not call at Thirsk. Rail replacement buses will run between Thirsk and Northallerton.
• Passengers should check their journey details at https://www.grandcentralrail.com

Northern – all dates:

• Between Eaglescliffe and Darlington / Bishop Auckland buses will replace trains.

Northern – on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January:

• Between Middlesbrough / Saltburn and Carlisle, and Newcastle / Carlisle and Darlington some late night and early morning services will be revised.
• Between Newcastle and Darlington / Thornaby buses will replace trains.

Northern – on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 February:

• Between Newcastle and Darlington / Thornaby buses will replace trains.

Passengers should check their journey details at https://www.northernrailway.com

TransPennine Express – on all dates (excluding Saturday 4 February):

• Between York and Newcastle there will be no services.
• Liverpool and Manchester services will start and terminate at York.
• The Saltburn to Manchester Airport via Northallerton service will run as normal.

TransPennine Express – on all dates:

• Between York and Newcastle buses will replace trains.

Passengers should check their journey details at https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/

CrossCountry Trains

• Passengers should check their journey details at https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk

A statement from a spokesman on behalf of train operators on the East Coast route said: “We’re asking people to check before they travel to, from or through Durham station while important upgrade work takes place.

“We’ll be providing rail replacement services wherever we can to keep passengers moving, so our best advice is to plan ahead and allow extra time to complete your journey.”

Paul Rutter, Route Director for Network Rail’s East Coast route, said: The work we’re doing in and around Durham in January and February will help boost reliability and provide smoother journeys for passengers.

“To allow the work to take place safely, there will be significant changes to services for five consecutive weekends, so we’d urge passengers to plan ahead via National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator.”

Ben Simkin, Regional Director for the North East and Scotland at CrossCountry said: “We appreciate our customers’ patience while this important engineering works takes place. The works will improve reliability for customers travelling through the region. In the meantime, there will be replacement buses between York and Newcastle on these weekends and we ask that customers check the website and allow extra time for their journeys.”