Vital railway upgrades take place this month on Midland Main Line

Network Rail have issued the following press release with advance notice of engineering work affecting Thameslink services between Bedford and Luton over two weekends this month:

Passengers are being advised to plan their weekend journeys in advance during ongoing multi-million-pound work to electrify the Midland Main Line this September.

Teams will be working on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September and on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September to:

• Upgrade existing overhead lines which power trains and track south of Bedford.
• Install new switches and crosses south of Bedford, the specialist equipment used by trains to cross from one track to another.

The essential work will mean future passengers can expect smoother, faster, and quieter journeys as they travel between the East Midlands and London.

When complete, the South of Bedford upgrade will allow East Midlands Railway (EMR) to run its new fleet of electric trains up to 125mph in the future.

Separate to the Midland Main Line work, teams will be upgrading track in preparation for the Agar Grove bridge project and carrying out drainage work between Radlett and Agar Grove.

While this work is carried out, EMR* and Thameslink* will be operating a revised train service, with buses replacing all trains between Luton and Bedford, to keep passengers on the move.

Passengers are being encouraged to check their journey before they travel by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk or through EMR’s and Thameslink’s social media channels and website.

Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route said: “Upgrading the overhead line equipment and installing new switches and crosses is vital in the wider Midland Main Line electrification project to bring passengers smoother journeys.

“We are also upgrading track as part of the Agar Grove bridge project which is a crucial step in our preparation work for December.

“We would like to thank rail users for their patience and understanding while we carry out this work and we advise passengers to check their journey before they travel so they are up to date with the latest information.”

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London on 21, 22, 28 or 29 September 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 engineering work, and EMR services will be running where possible, however journey times may be longer than normal with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst the vital signalling work on the Midland Mainline takes place. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable journeys to and from London.”

Jenny Saunders, customer services director for Thameslink, said: “Thanks in advance to our customers for your patience while Network Rail carry out these essential improvements. We’ve arranged replacement buses to help you complete your journeys between Bedford and Luton on these weekends, so please plan ahead and allow extra time.”

For more information on the Midland Main Line upgrade you can visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/east-midlands/midland-main-line-upgrade/