With the continued electrification of the Midland Mainline taking place, Rail companies East Midlands Railway and Govia Thameslink Railway along with Network Rail, are issuing travel advice for people who are intending to travel throughout June when the main part of the works are due to be undertaken.

The multi-million pound project will see the entire line from St Pancras to Nottingham and Sheffield become fully electrified, and will enable faster and greener journeys, similar to those that run on other mainlines across the UK.

While the new electrification infrastructure, wires and signals are being installed, along with some track replacements, sections of line will close in stages to enable the works to be undertaken.

New bi-mode trains will be introduced once the line has been electrified. These will run on electric and diesel, enabling lines that are not electrified to see direct trains from London.

This not only increases service availability from the Midlands into London, it also means once trains are on the electrified section, several thousands of tons of CO2 will be cut in emissions each year.

Travel Advice

Passengers on both East Midlands Railway and Thameslink are reminded to:

• Check their services before they travel on nationalrail.co.uk or on the train company’s websites or social media pages.
• Make sure you allow extra time for the duration of your journey, as some trains will be running on alternative lines while some journeys will require a replacement bus.
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“This vital work being carried out by Network Rail will greatly improve services on the Midland Main Line. For improvements to take place, services will be amended on several dates in June, and we’ll have rail replacement buses in some areas. Please check our website and plan ahead, especially if you live in the Luton and Bedford region.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Govia Thameslink Railway

Dates of works & line closures

Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 June track and existing overhead power lines are to be replaced near Bedford to enable future trains to run at 125mph.

On this weekend, trains heading towards London will terminate at Luton. Buses will replace trains between Luton and Luton Airport Parkway.

The same buses will also travel between Harpenden, Hitchin and Potters Bar, where customers can resume their journey into London Kings Cross by train on the East Coast Line. Additional Buses will also run between Luton and West Hampstead.

Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 June will see brand new overhead power-lines being installed between Kettering and Wigston while points and crossings will be replaced in the Cricklewood area. Overhead power lines will also be replaced between Luton and Bedford on Sunday 9 June.

On this weekend, trains heading towards London will be diverted to run via Corby and Melton Mowbray. Rail replacement buses will operate from London to Market Harborough and Kettering.

Buses will replace some late night trains and early morning trains between 00:05 and 08:05 on Sunday 9 June between Luton and Bedford.

Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 June major track work is to be undertaken between Leicester and Peterborough. While Sunday 23 June will see the second part of the signalling replacement programme taking place between London St Pancras and Wellingborough, meaning no trains will run out of London St Pancras to the midlands.

On both days, buses will replace CrossCountry trains between Leicester and Peterborough, stopping at Melton Mowbray, Oakham, and Stamford.

Sunday 23 June trains heading from Sheffield and Nottingham towards London will terminate at Wellingborough. From here, passengers will have to catch a replacement bus to Hitchin or Potters Bar so customers can resume their journey by train into London Kings Cross.

Buses will be running between stations using the following routes:

• Hitchin – Luton – Bedford
• Hitchin – Luton – Luton Airport Parkway
• Potters Bar – St Albans City – Harpenden

Thameslink trains will also be replaced by buses from London St Pancras International to Luton via Bedford. These buses will stop at all stations except Kentish Town.

There will also be no Thameslink services from London St Pancras International and London Bridge. Passengers are reminded that their tickets will be valid on the London Underground and London buses to resume their journey.

Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 June major track work continues between Leicester and Peterborough, while additional overhead power lines will also be replaced between Luton and Bedford on Sunday 30 June.

On both days, buses will replace CrossCountry trains between Leicester and Peterborough, stopping at Melton Mowbray, Oakham, and Stamford.

While buses will replace some late night trains and early morning trains between 00:05 and 08:05 on Sunday 30 June between Luton and Bedford.

“Throughout June, our engineers will be working to upgrade various sections of the Midland Main Line to make journeys better for our passengers. Our major electrification project, currently between Kettering and Wigston, is continuing and we are installing new track and upgrade existing overhead line equipment.

We want to assure passengers that, despite the work, passengers can still carry out the journeys they need to, and we are working closely with East Midlands Railway and Thameslink to keep as many trains running as possible and provide alternative transport where necessary.

I want to thank passengers for their understanding and patience while we carry out this work and encourage them to check before their journey and follow our top tips to keep on the move.”

Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route

“We are working closely with Network Rail to keep customers moving throughout the engineering work and EMR services will be running where possible.

We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London on 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, or 23rd June to check their journeys in advance by looking for journey updates on the EMR website. Customers journeys may be longer than normal, with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.

We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst the engineering work to electrify the Midland Main Line takes place. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable, quicker journeys to and from London.”

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Services Director for EMR