Trains to be cancelled for one day this weekend on key lines out of London

Travellers are being warned of longer journey times as trains between London and the Midlands will be cancelled while "vital" engineering work is carried out. On Sunday, June 23, the line between London St Pancras and Wellingborough will be closed.

Rail replacement buses will be in operation, but travellers are warned that journeys will take much longer using this option. East Midlands Railway (EMR) has said that between Wellingborough and London St Pancras, rail replacement buses will be required for part of any journeys to or from London St Pancras.

EMR has said that between Wellingborough and London St Pancras, the line will be closed, with no trains able to run. EMR and Thameslink will be providing a range of rail replacement bus routes to help travellers to complete their journey this weekend.

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However, the rail replacement bus routes will add between 30 and 60 minutes extra time onto journeys between the two destinations, EMR has warned. The train service provider is also urging travellers to check their ticket restrictions before using any other rail operators - otherwise you might get charged more.

Tickets for "EMR only" routes must be used on the planned rail replacement services. The line closure comes as Network Rail carries out the final stages of work to modernise signalling controls between Wellingborough and London St Pancras.

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We recommend customers planning to travel to or from London on 23 June to check their journeys in advance by looking for journey 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. Customers’ journeys 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.”

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