Midland Main Line improvements continue this weekend 

• Passengers asked to plan ahead and allow more time
• Another Camden milestone passed and progress made on Bedford to London line

Buses will be running in place of trains between Luton and Mill Hill Broadway on the Midland Main Line this weekend (15 and 16 March) as Network Rail continues work to improve reliability on the rail route.

Passengers with Thameslink and East Midlands Railway will need to take buses between Luton and Hitchin for onward journeys into London, so are advised to plan ahead and leave more time for their journey.

Over the weekend, Network Rail engineers will be improving the signalling at Harpenden Junction, and making more progress on the new station at Wixams between Bedford and Flitwick (see editors' notes) and SEGRO’s Radlett Strategic Freight Interchange, Hertfordshire.

This will be the third in a series of nine weekends of planned engineering work delivering important infrastructure improvements (see editors' notes).

Once this work is complete in early June, there will be limited disruption on the southern stretch of the Midland Main Line until Christmas 2025.

Last weekend a major project to replace a bridge deck at Agar Grove moved a step closer to completion when a temporary bridge was removed (see pictures attached).

This had been installed to allow pedestrian access and carry power supplies while the 160-year-old bridge deck over the railway was replaced in a £19m investment over Christmas.

Network Rail engineers last weekend also carried out signal upgrades at Clerkenwell, drainage work to prevent flooding at Belsize Tunnel and Hendon, and preparation works for the new Wixams station.

Meanwhile, major strides continue to be made in the Midland Main Line overhead line OLE125 project, allowing bi-mode trains to travel at up to 125mph between London and Bedford. Work to upgrade the track and overhead power lines is almost two-thirds done – and remains on track for completion this summer.

Gavin Crook, Network Rail principal programme sponsor, said: “The vital upgrades taking place during these weekend line closures will deliver big results in the reliability and efficiency of the Midland Main Line, and our work at Agar Grove is set to be fully complete within weeks, following the bridge deck replacement in winter.

“We’re very thankful to residents living near the site for their continued understanding and patience.

“We’re also sorry to passengers who are affected by the rail disruption, but we are making the most of this time by carrying out dozens of improvement jobs during this time.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Thameslink, said: “These upgrades will bring about big change on the Midland Main Line from London to Bedford – but for this to happen, passengers will experience some disruption on weekends while engineers are hard at work.

“I’d like to thank people for their patience while these works are ongoing and apologise to those who may need to change plans because of this. We’ll have staff up and down the network ready to support you on your travels, but the most important message is to check before you leave for your journey, using the Thameslink website.”

Philippa Cresswell, customer service director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London over numerous weekends between now and June to check their journey in advance of travelling. Information about changes for each weekend will be available on the EMR website.

“Along with the improvement works, there are also several sporting events across the EMR network on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March and we are expecting services to be busy. We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst Network Rail upgrade the overhead power lines. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable journeys to and from London.”

Rail replacement bus services are running while work takes place. Passengers are urged to plan ahead and check www.nationalrail.co.uk before travelling.

ENDS