Rail passengers in the East Midlands are being advised to plan ahead on the weekend of 22 and 23 April as electrification work means changes to services between Kettering and Corby.
There’s also intensive maintenance work between London and Kentish Town at the very southern end of the Midland Main Line, resulting in reduced Thameslink and East Midlands Railway services.
There will be no Thameslink services through central London between St Pancras or Finsbury Park and Blackfriars / London Bridge.
Gary Walsh, Route Director for Network Rail in the East Midlands said:
“The electrification of the Midland Main Line is a really important investment for our region.
“We’re carrying out as much work as possible without affecting services, but some activities need to be carried out when trains aren’t running to keep everyone safe.
“This weekend is also a busy weekend at the London end of our route where our maintenance teams get longer access to make sure everything is working as it should be.
“I want to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this work. Please do check your journey before you travel and be aware that some trains may be busier than usual.”
Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Thameslink and Great Northern, said: “We also thank our passengers for bearing with the inconvenience while Network Rail carry out this essential track maintenance. Sunday will be particularly busy into and out of London, with many people heading for the Marathon or the FA Cup semi-final, so please plan you journey in advance and check times before you leave home.”
Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director for East Midlands Railway said: “We are asking any customers planning to travel to or from London on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April to plan ahead and allow plenty of time to complete their journey.
“We are expecting our services to be very busy throughout the duration of the weekend and with major sporting events taking place, we want to make sure we can get our customers to these events as safely as possible.
“On Sunday, the day of the London Marathon, Rail Replacement buses will keep passengers moving between Leicester and Market Harborough, and between Market Harborough and Kettering.”
Saturday:
A reduced hourly service on our Sheffield/Nottingham routes to/from London St Pancras International will operate.
An amended timetable will be in operation all day, and journey times will be extended by up to 1 hour. Additionally, the 22:01 Corby to Kettering service will not run.
Services are taking a diversionary route between Leicester and Kettering, meaning we are unable to run trains to/from Market Harborough. A rail replacement bus service will run between Leicester and Market Harborough, and between Market Harborough and Kettering.
There are a significant number of sporting events taking place on our route this Saturday. Services are expected to be extremely busy. You should expect queuing systems to be in place at key locations. Please allow additional time to get through the station and board your train.
Please plan ahead, know which trains are available to you and leave extra time to travel in each direction. Services are going to be extremely busy and you may not be able to board the next service at your station.
You can view our full Saturday timetable, including rail replacement by clicking here.
FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley – Saturday
If you’re travelling to and from the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley, take extra care planning your journey home. We strongly advise you to start your journey home as soon as the match ends – this will give you the most services to choose from and improve your chances of getting home quickly and comfortably. There are an extremely limited number of rail services north after the game is expected to finish. The limited number of services and carriages available mean queues will be in place, and services may stop boarding early due to crowding levels.
Check Live Departures from Wembley Park Underground here.
Check Live Departures from London St Pancras here.
Check Live Departures from London King’s Cross here.
Sunday:
A reduced Intercity train service from/to Sheffield and Nottingham will operate. Trains will be diverted, increasing journey times by up to an hour.
All services between Corby and London St Pancras International will start / terminate at Wellingborough, running every half an hour on Saturday and hourly on Sunday. Rail connections are available to Kettering and Corby.
A rail replacement bus service will run between Leicester and Market Harborough, and between Market Harborough and Kettering.
