Major rail disruption expected over East Coast and West Coast engineering works

Rail passengers are being warned of major disruption this weekend as there are no direct trains between London and Scotland.

Thousands of train users will be affected while Network Rail carries out engineering work on two major routes at the same time.

The Government-owned company said a “congested work programme” means it must close sections of both the East Coast and West Coast main lines on Saturday and Sunday.

The disruption has been criticised, with the Watchdog Transport Focus said “this situation should not happen”.

LNER's East Coast main line runs between London and Edinburgh by calling at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire and other cities such as York and Newcastle.

But on Saturday there are no LNER trains to or from London Kings Cross because of engineering work between the station and Stevenage.

As a result, rail replacement buses will run between Peterborough and Kings Cross.

There are also no trains between London and St Neots in Cambridgeshire while a new signalling system is brought into use.

When the East Coast main line is affected by engineering works, the West Coast main line usually runs a full service.

It runs between London and Glasgow, with branches to Birmingham, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh.

However, due to track upgrades at Preston station, it will be closed between Wigan North Western and Lancaster during the next three weekends.

As a result of the combined engineering works, services run by Avanti West Coast, LNER and Lumo are disrupted.

Journeys between London and Scotland will be significantly slower than usual and require at least one change.

An itinerary suggested by National Rail Enquiries for passengers travelling from London to Edinburgh on Saturday morning involves three trains and one bus.

That journey is expected to take a total of six hours and 12 minutes, nearly two hours longer than the normal direct service.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith said: “Passengers will be disappointed to see both East and West Coast lines closed due to engineering works this coming weekend.

“This situation should not happen.

“One line should be kept open so that passengers from Scotland and the north of England have access to a direct train service to London.

“Both train operators and Network Rail must ensure that there is effective communication to support passengers.”

Network Rail defended the works and said alternatives would "cause more disruption".

A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We always try to have a direct cross-border route open, but that has not been possible on this occasion.

“The industry – both Network Rail and train operators – have looked at the alternatives, all of which cause more disruption for passengers.

“We also have a congested work programme caused by landslips, floods and strikes, severely limiting those alternatives.

“We understand the inconvenience this will cause to some of our customers and wish to reassure them that this will be a one-off.”

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