Rail passengers are being advised to plan ahead this festive period as vital engineering work will be taking place to improve reliability for passengers.
This will close a section of the Midland Main Line, between London St Pancras and Bedford for nine consecutive days.
Passengers wishing to travel between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 December are being advised to plan their whole journey, including connections, as soon as possible.
Network Rail engineers will be working during this time to carry out a number of projects between London St Pancras and Bedford, including:
Replacing the bridge deck on a road over rail bridge at Agar Grove in Camden.
Continuing work to upgrade the overhead lines, which power trains, between London St Pancras and Bedford.
Installing a new bridge under the railway to provide access to Radlett Strategic Freight interchange.
Lots of other maintenance and renewal jobs to improve safety and the reliability of the railway network.
As a result of this work passenger services are severely disrupted.
Between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 December, there will be no East Midlands Railway (EMR) services between London St Pancras and Bedford. Thameslink train services will not run between London St Pancras and Harpenden.
Journeys between London St Pancras and destinations on the Midland Main Line, including Luton Airport Parkway, St Albans, Bedford, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield will take longer and involve replacement bus services.
In addition, between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 December, there will be no Thameslink train services between London St Pancras and London Bridge as engineering work is carried out to upgrade the tracks.
Mark Budden, route director for Network Rail’s East Midlands route said: “We’re sorry that this essential work will cause significant disruption to journeys for many people over the festive period. We’ve worked hard to make sure the work will be completed as quickly and safely as possible.
“We’re deploying hundreds of people to carry out dozens of jobs to prevent further disruption at another time. Once complete this essential work will mean passengers will have smoother, faster and more reliable journeys.
“Timetables will start to be published this weekend so we’re advising anyone planning to travel between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 December to check your whole journey, including connections as soon as you can.
“Though most of the network will be open as normal, there is engineering work on several parts of the network on different dates over the festive period.”
Passengers who usually take the train north from London St Pancras will need to use different London stations and connecting buses to reach their destinations.
EMR passengers can take West Coast Main Line services from London Euston to Milton Keynes to catch buses to Bedford where they will join their EMR train.
Thameslink passengers travelling to destinations between London and north of Harpenden will take East Coast Main Line services from London Kings Cross to Hitchin or Potters Bar, where they can connect to rail replacement bus services to Luton Airport Parkway, or St Albans City and Harpenden. Thameslink trains will be operating from these stations to Bedford.
Buses will replace trains between London St Pancras and Harpenden.
Additional staff will also be on hand at stations to keep passengers on the move as rail replacement services will be busy and journeys will take longer than expected.
Customers are being encouraged to check National Rail Enquiries before they travel. Additional information will also be available on EMR’s and Thameslink’s websites and social media channels from this weekend.
Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 December to check their journeys in advance by looking for updates on the EMR website.
“We are working closely with Network Rail to keep customers moving throughout the festive period; however, journey times will be significantly longer than normal with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst these vital engineering upgrades take place. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with the introduction of our bi-mode trains and with reliable journeys to and from London.”
Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Govia Thameslink Railway said: “We know how important this time of the year is to our customers, which is why, with such a lengthy period of improvement work planned over the festive period, we want to give them as much time as possible to plan ahead. It really is vital to consider your options now. Thank you for your patience.”
• New LED traffic lights for 60 Nottingham city road junctions