Work on the billion-pound East Coast Digital Programme will be extending further north for the next two weekends as engineers carry out work between Peterborough and Grantham.

Over the weekends of the 6 / 7 January and 13 / 14 January services on the East Coast Main Line will be disrupted by the Network Rail work, resulting in changes to some train services and no long-distance services into or out of London King’s Cross on both weekends.

During these two weekends, engineers will be carrying out more improvements to the trackwork in the area, adjusting overhead line equipment, and testing newly installed cabling and equipment.

The introduction of the East Coast Digital Programme project will remove lineside signals and replace them with signalling displayed on screens inside drivers’ cabs, resulting in more reliable journeys for passengers and a greener railway.

At the same time, separate work will be carried out to improve mobile phone signal reception inside the tunnels at the entry to King’s Cross station.

• London North Eastern Railway will be operating a reduced service, with trains starting and terminating at Grantham. Rail replacement coaches will run between Grantham and Peterborough to Corby / Kettering, where connections can be made with East Midlands Railway services to London St Pancras.
• Hull Trains will operate a reduced train service of two trains in each direction, and these will be diverted to London St Pancras where they will terminate.
• Lumo services will only operate between Edinburgh and Newcastle.
• Grand Central will operate no services on the affected weekends.

Anyone intending to travel on the affected weekends should check their journey with National Rail Enquiries or their train operator before travelling.

Further work in connection with the East Coast Digital Programme will take place between Saturday, 17 and Tuesday, 20 February, with buses replacing trains. Further information can be obtained from National Rail Enquiries.

Ricky Barsby, Head of Access and Integration for East Coast Digital Programme, said: “Work is progressing well on this pioneering project and we continue to prepare the way for changing the way train services operate on the East Coast Main Line.

“This work has been scheduled years in advance and while we never want to disrupt passengers’ journeys, these upgrades are vital to delivering a more resilient, more reliable and greener railway for the future.

“We want to thank passengers for their patience and understanding and encourage them to check their journey before travelling.”

A spokesperson on behalf of LNER, Hull Trains, Lumo, and Grand Central said: “While there will be changes to services on these weekends, our teams will be working really hard to keep passengers moving and to get them to their destination as quickly as possible.

“The latest information can be found on our websites and through our social media channels and we encourage passengers to plan ahead before travelling.”