More than three kilometres of track will be replaced by Network Rail during the work which will include refreshing of the rails, sleepers and supporting stones and will bring more reliable journeys for passengers with fewer delays.

The vital upgrades between York and Newcastle are necessary in order to keep services running fast and reliably for passengers.

Also being refurbished as part of the upgrade are switches and crossings which are the moving parts of the track that allow trains to move from one track to another. The refurbishment will mean less need for future service changes for this area.

Rail replacement buses and limited services will operate between York and Newcastle on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of January, Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th and Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of February 2022.

The three weekends of essential work will also coincide with sports fans travelling to the Six Nations game at Murrayfield on Saturday the 5th of February and Newcastle United’s game against Aston Villa at St James’ Park on Sunday the 13th of February.

Due to the changes to services passengers are being advised to check their travel plans ahead of their journey. Passengers travelling with CrossCountry, Grand Central, LNER, Lumo or TransPennine Express should plan their travel ahead using National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner.

Neil Henry, East Coast Operations Director for Network Rail, said: “We’re doing this work across a few weekends to keep the railway open for passengers, including key workers, through the week – and we’re packing in additional work to minimise future disruption. When complete, this vital section of the East Coast Main Line will see fewer delays, helping to provide better journeys along the whole route.”

LNER will operate services between York and Newcastle using a diversionary route and will see a reduced number of services with longer journey times. Rail replacement coaches will be in operation between York and Newcastle to enable connections for passengers travelling both to and from Durham, Darlington and Chester-le Street for all three of the weekends and also to and from Northallerton for the second and third working weekends.

A spokesperson for train operators on the East Coast Main Line said: “Passengers planning to travel over these three weekends should plan their journey in advance through their train operator’s website or via National Rail Enquiries. The improved track will allow us to run trains more reliably, helping passengers get to where they need to be, on time.”

Changes to services over the three weekends:

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of January 2022

• CrossCountry – buses will replace trains between York and Newcastle, calling at Darlington and Durham.
• TransPennine Express – there will be no trains between York and Newcastle.
• LNER – one train will run per hour each way between Newcastle and York using a diversionary route with journey times extended by around one hour. Replacement coaches will run between York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. Trains from Lincoln will run to and from Newark and trains to and from Harrogate will run to and from Leeds.
• Lumo – services will not be running between Newcastle and London however, amended services will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh to minimise disruption. During these planned track upgrades.

Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th February 2022:

• CrossCountry – buses replace trains between York and Newcastle, calling at Darlington and Durham.
• Grand Central – an amended service will run between London King’s Cross and Sunderland. No Grand Central trains will call at Northallerton. Replacement buses will run between Northallerton and York, connecting with train services.
• LNER – one train will run per hour each way between Newcastle and York using a diversionary route with journey times extended by around one hour. Replacement coaches will run between York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. Trains from Lincoln will run to and from Newark and trains to and from Harrogate will run to and from Leeds.
• Northern – changes to individual journeys, with buses replacing trains for stations between Middlesbrough and Newcastle.
• TransPennine Express – there will be no trains between York and Newcastle. Services between Manchester stations and Redcar Central will not call at Northallerton. Replacement buses will run between Newcastle and York.
• Lumo – services will not be running between Newcastle and London however, amended services will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh to minimise disruption.

Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of February 2022:

• CrossCountry – buses replace trains between York and Newcastle, calling at Darlington and Durham.
• Grand Central – an amended service will run between London King’s Cross and Sunderland. No Grand Central trains will call at Northallerton. Replacement buses will run between Northallerton and York, connecting with train services.
• LNER – one train will run per hour each way between Newcastle and York using a diversionary route with journey times extended by around one hour. Replacement coaches will run between York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. Trains from Lincoln will run to/from Newark and trains to/from Harrogate will run to/from Leeds.
• TransPennine Express – there will be no trains between York and Newcastle. Services between Manchester stations and Redcar Central will not call at Northallerton.
• Lumo – services will not be running between Newcastle and London however, amended services will run between Newcastle and Edinburgh to minimise disruption.