Major upgrades affecting train services on Sunday 30 August

As work continues to modernise the railway’s signalling system, services on the East Coast Main Line will be significantly impacted between 22:00 on Saturday 29 August and 08:00 on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August.

Journeys to and from London will take considerably longer than normal and passengers are advised to check before they travel.

How will passenger services be impacted?

Grand Central

There will be no Grand Central services.

Hull Trains

Hull Trains will be running an amended train service which will divert to run to and from London St Pancras International.

LNER

LNER will be operating an amended service starting and terminating at Peterborough. Rail replacement coaches will run between Peterborough and Bedford, where customers can join Thameslink services to London St Pancras*.

Please note: If you are travelling between the North and London we strongly advise you to use LNER services to and from Peterborough and apply a search filter to specify travel via Peterborough. Please avoid travelling via Sheffield, Derby or Chesterfield if possible due to extremely high customer numbers on this route.

Lumo

Lumo will operate an amended service between Newcastle and Edinburgh/Glasgow only.

Thameslink and Great Northern

There will be no Thameslink or Great Northern trains between Potters Bar and Peterborough/Letchworth Garden City, or between Hertford North and Stevenage.

An amended train service will run between:

• Letchworth Garden City and Cambridge/Kings Lynn

• London King’s Cross/Moorgate and Potters Bar / Hertford North

• Finsbury Park and Brighton

Rail Replacement buses will run between:

• Hitchin and Peterborough, calling at all stations

• Bedford and Peterborough, calling at St. Neots and Huntingdon

• Hitchin and Letchworth Garden City

• Luton Airport Parkway and Stevenage via Hitchin

• St. Albans and Stevenage calling at Hatfield, Welwyn Garden City, Welwyn North and Knebworth

• Hertford North and Stevenage, calling at Watton-at-Stone

• Potters Bar and Hitchin, calling at all stations (Saturday evening/all day Sunday only)

• Potters Bar and Welwyn Garden City, calling at all stations (Monday morning only)

*St Pancras International lift closures

Please also note that due to lift refurbishment there is currently no step-free access to or from the Thameslink platforms at London St Pancras International.

This is because the lifts are being refurbished to improve their long-term reliability, which will mean fewer short-notice unplanned closures.

The escalators and stairs serving platforms A and B are unaffected and will still be available.

Get further information and alternative routes for those requiring step-free access.

Upcoming impacts on train services

Upcoming affected dates are listed below. This is the agreed industry plan but may be subject to alteration.

We advise you to plan ahead and check before you travel during these periods.

2026

Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November

No trains between Potters Bar and Peterborough/Letchworth Garden City.

No trains between Stevenage and Hertford North.

Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November

No trains between London King’s Cross and Peterborough/Letchworth Garden City.

No trains between Moorgate and Stevenage via Hertford North.

About the East Coast Digital Programme

Work on the East Coast Main Line is taking place as part of the Government-funded transformational East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), that will see state-of-the-art digital signalling introduced, providing continuous, real-time information to the driver’s cab. This is aimed at improving reliability for passengers, while also reducing emissions. The digital technology is already being used on Great Northern passenger services between Finsbury Park and Moorgate in London.

If you would like to know more about ECDP please visit the East Coast Digital Programme website(external link, opens in a new tab).