Network Rail is reminding East Coast Main Line passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Engineers will be working on the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) over the weekend, centred around Welwyn Garden City, Hitchin and Peterborough.

From late evening Saturday 26 until Monday 28 August, work will focus on a stretch of line between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin in Hertfordshire

On the evening of Friday 25 August, Peterborough’s power signal box will close, with local signalling control moving to modern rail operating centre in York. The move aims to allow trains to move more efficiently across junctions and to reduce delays. As a consequence, between Saturday 26 August and early morning Monday 28 August, no train services will run from Peterborough.

Although Network Rail has scheduled the work to minimise disruption, the following changes will apply:

LNER

• Saturday 26 August 20:00 until on Monday 28 August 08:00: no services between Grantham and London King’s Cross
• Throughout Saturday 27 August, reduced LNER service will start and finish at Grantham; rail replacement coaches between Grantham and Peterborough, and between Grantham and Corby/Kettering, for connection to rail services to London St Pancras.

Grand Central

• Saturday 26 August: some services retimed to operate earlier
• Sunday 27 August: no services

Hull Trains

• Saturday 26 August: 19:48 London Kings Cross – Hull service departs at earlier time of 18:27
• Sunday 27 August: reduced service. Trains will run direct via the Midland Main Line to London St Pancras with longer journey times. Due to the diversions, services will only call at Hull, Brough, Howden and Selby.
• Monday 28 August: 07:27 London Kings Cross – Hull and 06:05 Beverley – London Kings Cross will not run.

Lumo

• Saturday 26 August evening: trains subject to cancellation or amended times
• Sunday 27 August: services between Newcastle and Edinburgh only
• Monday 28 August early morning: trains subject to cancellation or amended times.

East Midlands Railway

• Saturday 26 August evening: services subject to amendments and replacement buses
• Sunday 27 August: Trains between Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich will start and finish at Grantham; replacement buses between Grantham and Norwich, calling at Peterborough
• Monday 28 August early morning: services subject to amendments and replacement buses.

Greater Anglia

• Saturday 26 August evening: services subject to amendments and replacement buses
• Sunday 27 August: Trains between Peterborough and Ely will be replaced by buses
• Monday 28 August: services subject to amendments and replacement buses.

CrossCountry

• Saturday 26 August from 20:00 and all day on Sunday 27 August: buses replace trains between Leicester, Peterborough and Ely.

The East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) will bring digital signalling into use from 2025. This will result in more reliable train services and lower emissions.

Signalling information is fed directly to a screen in the driver’s cab, replacing lineside signals.

Digital signalling is already in use in many European countries and elsewhere, using the European Train Control System (ETCS).  The East Coast Digital Programme will introduce ETCS to an intercity mainline in Great Britain for the first time, which will provide the foundation to expand digital signalling across the network.  ETCS is already in use in the central London section of Thameslink and on the Cambrian Line in Wales.

Ricky Barsby, Network Rail’s Head of Access and Integration for ECDP, said: “We’re encouraging passengers to check before they travel over the August Bank Holiday weekend so that their journeys run as smoothly as possible. The work we are delivering for the East Coast Digital Programme is imperative in allowing for improved, more reliable journeys for our passengers in the future.

“We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding in advance of the work and have carefully planned the it so that it causes the least amount of disruption as possible.”

A spokesperson on behalf of train operators on routes affected said:  “Our teams will be working hard over the August Bank Holiday weekend to keep passengers moving, but as we implement replacement bus services and diversion routes, journey times will be longer, and services may be busier than usual.

“Please check before you travel by using National Rail Enquiries or directly via your train operator to see how your journey may be affected.”