During last weekend work took place on part of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) as part of the implementation of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP) that will provide train drivers with in-cab digital signalling.

Work carried out this weekend took place between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin in and included installation of new cabling and testing. ECDP will eventually provide the East Coast Main Line with a more reliable, resilient, and greener railway.

ECDP is already in use in on Great Northern passenger trains running on the Northern City Line between Finsbury Park and Moorgate, and it is planned that trains on the main line will start to use the new digital signalling between Welwyn and Hitchin in 2025.

Because the work to implement ECDP is causing frequent disruption to some services, Transport Focus has undertaken customer research and produced a report Digital signalling: how to communicate the upgrade programme to rail passengers that explains how the introduction of ECDP will be communicated to the wider public.

Further ECDP work will affect services on Sunday, 24 December as follows:

• Great Northern and Thameslink services between Potters Bar and St Neots, Potters Bar and Royston, and Hertford North and Stevenage will be replaced by buses.
• Buses will replace trains between Finsbury Park and Potters Bar/Hertford North before 10.00.
• LNER will operate a reduced service with train services starting and terminating at St Neots, from where rail replacement coaches will run to Bedford where passengers can re-join rail services to London St Pancras.
• Lumo will only operate between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
• Hull Trains will operate a reduced train service and be diverted to St Pancras.
• Grand Central service will not operate any services.

Ed Akers, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail’s East Coast Digital Programme, said: “Digital signalling will provide long term and lasting improvements to journeys, making them more reliable with less disruption. It has been really useful to work with Transport Focus to understand how best we communicate that to passengers whose journeys will be affected by work taking place to deliver ECDP.

“Our new campaign and website will help passengers to understand what is happening and why, and we will continue to provide updates as ECDP progresses.

“We thank passengers for their understanding as we worked to progress the digital upgrade, during a weekend also impacted by industrial action.”

Alex Robertson, chief executive at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “Passengers understand that improvements to the railway will mean some disruption, but they need plenty of information before, during and after the works. This includes how their journeys are affected and what their travel choices are.

“We are pleased to have worked with Network Rail to understand how to best communicate the East Coast digital signalling upgrade to passengers. We hope this research will result in effective communications that inform passengers about disruption to their journeys while explaining the need for the work – and how they will benefit.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director at Govia Thameslink Railway, said: “Introducing digital signalling will mean better, more reliable journeys for Great Northern and Thameslink customers in the long-run and we are thrilled this technology is now benefiting our customers on the Northern City Line.

“Where planned engineering works are required, we are committed to providing our customers with the best possible information about the impact to their journeys, as soon as we can, so they can plan ahead. The report from Transport Focus and refreshed ECDP website will help us to do so.”

Dr Linda Wain, Engineering Director at LNER said: “We’re delighted to be now seeing real progress on this programme which will transform customer journeys for the long term and enable us to fulfil the full potential of our Azuma fleet, which is already fitted with the technology for digital signalling.”