Disruption for Doncaster rail passengers on East Coast Main Line this weekend

Passengers are being reminded that no trains will run between London King’s Cross and Peterborough on May 17-18 as work to transform the route continues.

Teams will carry out significant upgrades as part of £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), including removing traditional signals in a major milestone for the project.

This weekend, Network Rail will test digital signalling between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin – ahead of this section going live in early 2026 – and carry out preparatory digital signalling work between Biggleswade and Peterborough.

The signal removal work between Moorgate and Finsbury Park marks a significant milestone, as this section becomes Britain’s first fully ‘no signals’ commuter railway, with trains operating solely with in-cab digital signalling, and not the traditional, trackside traffic-light signals.

Great Northern services already use digital signalling on this stretch, so removing the physical signals completes the transition to a fully digital railway route.

Ricky Barsby, Network Rail's head of access integration for the East Coast Digital Programme, said: “The testing work is another step towards the introduction of digital, in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line, enabling a more reliable and greener railway.

"The work will also see the removal of traditional signals on a stretch of commuter railway in London, pointing the way to the next generation railway.

“We recognise the work will lead to journeys taking longer over that weekend. We would like to thank all those affected for their patience and understanding.”

Due to the engineering work, there will be no services to or from London King's Cross on 17 and 18 May.

Journeys to and from London will take significantly longer than normal, and passengers are urged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before they travel.

There will be no trains between Peterborough and London King’s Cross, meaning passengers travelling from further north will need to use rail replacement coaches between Peterborough and southern stations. Check details with your train operators.

Passengers travelling via Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham or Chesterfield on East Midlands Railway services should expect trains to be busier than normal due to the closure on the East Coast Main Line.

A spokesperson on behalf of train operators said: “Across the weekend, our colleagues will be working hard to keep people on the move and get them safely to their destination.

"There is rarely an ideal time to carry out such large-scale engineering work, but these upgrades will bring major improvements to customer journeys in the future. We want to thank all our customers for their understanding across the weekend.”

This weekend will also see track switching equipment renewed and refurbished near Hornsey and Huntingdon, and drainage work completed near Fletton, also contributing to smoother, more reliable journeys on the East Coast Main Line.

Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May

LNER

LNER services will run a reduced service starting and terminating at Peterborough.

Rail replacement buses will run between Peterborough and Bedford, where passengers can join Thameslink services to London St Pancras.

Please note, East Midlands Railway services to and from London St Pancras are expected to be extremely busy and it is also the FA Cup final weekend.

Passengers travelling between Leeds/Doncaster/Newcastle/Edinburgh and London are strongly advised to use LNER services to and from Peterborough and rail replacement coaches between Bedford and Peterborough, which connect with Thameslink services to London St Pancras.

Customers travelling between the North and London are recommended to apply a search filter to specify travel via Peterborough. Please avoid travelling via Sheffield, Derby or Chesterfield if possible due to extremely high customer numbers on this route.

Grand Central

A reduced train service will be running from Sunderland to Peterborough, with rail replacement connections to London King’s Cross.

No services to and from Bradford.

Hull Trains

A reduced service will run to/from London St Pancras International.

There will be no Hull Trains services calling at Beverley/Cottingham/Doncaster/Retford/Grantham or Stevenage.

LUMO

Services between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh will run a reduced service.

Rail replacement bus services will run between London King’s Cross and Peterborough to connect to some train services.

Great Northern/Thameslink

No trains will run between:

London and Peterborough

London and Royston

Moorgate and Stevenage (via Hertford North)

Rail replacement buses will run between:

Peterborough and Bedford via St Neots

Peterborough and Hitchin

Royston and Hitchin

Stevenage and Hertford North

Hertford North and Alexandra Palace

Stevenage and St Albans City via Welwyn Garden City

Stevenage and Luton Airport Parkway via Hitchin

Alexandra Palace and Welwyn Garden City

Cockfosters and Potters Bar via Hadley Wood

Trains will run between:

Royston and Cambridge/Ely/Kings Lynn

Ticket acceptance will be in place on Thameslink services between Bedford and London, and on Greater Anglia services between Cambridge North/Hertford East and London Liverpool Street.