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Rail passengers faced problems in the first weekend of November as two major sections of the intercity line were closed for engineering work.
The East Coast Main Line will be closed between Doncaster and Northallerton in Yorkshire on Saturday and Sunday, 1 and 2 November. It would disrupt Britain’s key route, which links London King’s Cross with Yorkshire, north-east England and Scotland. The 62-mile line that typically carries thousands of passengers every hour.
The only trains to and from York station will run to Scarborough.
LNERThe main train operator will run from London to Doncaster and Northallerton to Newcastle, Edinburgh and northern Scotland.
Passengers face a two-hour rail-replacement bus journey from Doncaster to Darlington – extending the London-Edinburgh journey to six hours.
on passengers cross country And TransPennine Express trains will also be affected.
Two “open-access” operators will cut their services. Grand Central London will not run any trains between King’s Cross and Sunderland, while a reduced Lumo service will only run between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
In the West Midlands, all lines through Coventry will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, 1-2 November, affecting intercity links between London, Birmingham, north-west England and Scotland.
No trains will run between Rugby and Birmingham International, replaced by rail replacement buses Forward West Coast and London Northwestern Railway passengers. The fastest journey time between London Euston and Coventry will almost double from 54 to 102 minutes.
Anglo-Scottish trains from London via the West Midlands will originate and terminate at Birmingham International.
Some trains traveling from London to Manchester via the faster Trent Valley Line will face increased journey times due to additional stops at Watford Junction and Rugby.
a spokesperson for network rail Said: “There is no good time to close parts of the rail network, but maintaining and upgrading the railways is vital to ensuring its safe operation for the millions of people who use it every day.
“Unlike strike action, most work is planned months and often years in advance so that disruption is minimal; canceling engineering work at short notice will cost millions.
“We acknowledge that some journeys will be affected, and, as always, we will remind rail passengers to check before travelling.”
A proposed strike on November 1 by RMT union members working for CrossCountry has been called off, but services will remain disrupted as both sets of engineering work affect the rail firm’s operations.
National Rail is telling passengers online: “A normal timetable has been restored for this date, and a full crosscountry service will operate, although planned engineering work will mean changes to some journeys.”
The line between Peterborough, Ely and Cambridge North is also closed for the weekend for Network Rail work, affecting trains serving Stansted Airport from the Midlands.