NO Leeds to London trains this weekend - everything you need to know about the major disruption

There will be no trains to London from Leeds City Station this weekend.
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The closure is part of a £1.2billion upgrade, set to improve journeys on the East Coast Main Line.

Ed Akers, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail, said: “This weekend, we are continuing with vital work on the £1.2billion East Coast Upgrade, which is the biggest investment into the line in a generation.

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“We are urging passengers to heed the advice issued which is not to travel to or from London on the East Coast Main Line this weekend.

LNER trains will not run to London King's Cross this weekendLNER trains will not run to London King's Cross this weekend
LNER trains will not run to London King's Cross this weekend

"We know that this is disruptive and we do apologise for this.

"Unfortunately, it is necessary to enable us to progress on this work, which will create more services, faster services and thousands more seats for passengers.”

Here is everything you need to know about the closure.

When is the closure in place?

Work is being carried out to improve signalling on the East Coast Main Line (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)Work is being carried out to improve signalling on the East Coast Main Line (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Work is being carried out to improve signalling on the East Coast Main Line (Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

The lines between Peterborough and London King's Cross will be closed this Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26.

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Leeds passengers are advised not to travel to London on LNER services this weekend.

What should I do if I need to get to London?

Customers who intended to travel to London this weekend should instead travel on either Friday 24 or Monday 27.

However, Network Rail has warned that these services will be very busy and passengers should book in advance and reserve a seat where possible.

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If you absolutely must travel on Saturday or Sunday, allow significantly more time for your journey.

You will need to change trains or use a bus replacement service if available, both of which are expected to be incredibly busy, and book tickets in advance.

Why are the lines closed this weekend?

Upgrades to the signalling system are taking place this weekend between Peterborough and London King's Cross.

Network Rail engineers will move control of a section of the signalling system to a specialist centre in York.

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No trains will be able to run on the southern portion of the route while this work takes place.

When are the next closures planned?

Network Rail has now announced another weekend closure, on Saturday, February 29 and Sunday, March 1.

Provisional dates have also been pencilled in for the rest of the year.

There will be no services to or from London King’s Cross on Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21.

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A reduced long-distance service is planned between Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 13.

There will be no services to or from London King’s Cross on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6.

There will also be a period of prolonged disruption from Saturday, December 19 2020 through to late March 2021 affecting weekdays and weekends, with a mixture of reduced services and no services at King’s Cross.

What have train companies said about the closures?

A spokesperson for train operators along the route said: “This weekend, significant work by Network Rail will mean widespread changes to services on the East Coast Main Line into King’s Cross.

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“This is a necessary part of the £1.2billion investment into the line and we strongly urge passengers not to travel and to seek alternate travel arrangements.

"We hope passengers can understand that we are doing all we can to minimise the impact on them which is why we have announced the next set of provisional dates when services will be disrupted.

"As an industry we are all committed to providing the best possible information to passengers while we work to significantly improve the service we can offer in future.”