Train services on the East Coast Main Line and all other routes via Peterborough are set to be disrupted over the August Bank Holiday weekend from 26th to 28th August 2023 due to work on the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).

Through the use of digital technology, the East Coast Digital Programme will create a more reliable railway with lower emissions. Traditional signals at the lineside will be replaced by continuous signalling information displayed on a screen in the driver’s cab.

Between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin in Hertfordshire, new equipment and technology are being installed to enable that section of the line to start using digital signalling in 2025. In the Peterborough area, work will take place so that local signalling control can be moved to Network Rail‘s modern operating centre in York. Included in that work is the installation of dynamic software that will efficiently route trains through junctions and reduce delays; this is the first time it has been used on the East Coast Main Line.

The work has been planned so that journeys during Friday and most of Saturday and Monday will be unaffected. Anyone intending to travel to Peterborough and or through other destinations on the East Coast Main Line should plan ahead and check with their train operator how their journey may be affected.

From the late evening on Saturday, the 26th and the early morning on Monday, the 28th of August, there will be no train services at Peterborough. Buses and coaches will replace trains on the East Coast Main Line between Grantham, Royston, and Potters Bar/Hertford North, and between Grantham/Leicester and Ely.

Ed Akers, Network Rail’s Principal Programme Sponsor, ECDP said: “The August Bank Holiday weekend work will enable further progress towards Britain’s first digital signalling on an intercity mainline.

“We’ve carefully planned the work to avoid the busiest travelling times and to progress two different elements of digital change at the same time. Both sets of work will contribute to enabling more reliable journeys in the years ahead.

“We are sorry for the disruption that this work will cause passengers, and thank them for their patience.”

A spokesperson on behalf of train operators on routes affected said: “These upgrades on the East Coast Main Line will mean disruption to services over part of the August Bank Holiday weekend, so we urge passengers to follow the advice given and check their journey before travelling.

“We are working hard to keep people moving, with rail replacement services and diversion routes, but this means some journeys will take longer and may be busier than usual.”