Rail passengers in Bedford, Luton and Biggleswade area face travel disruption for two weekends
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
People travelling from Bedford, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway, Biggleswade, Sandy, Arlesey, and Royston are being reminded to plan ahead and check before they travel – as work begins on January 25.
On Saturdays (January 25 and February 1), there will be no Thameslink or Great Northern trains between London and Peterborough, Royston, and Stevenage via Hertford North.
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Hide AdOn Sundays (January 26 and February 2), these tracks will be closed again, although trains will run slightly further south of Royston – to and from Letchworth Garden City.


On January 25-26 and February 1-2, no trains will run between:
>London and Peterborough (from 8pm on Sunday, January 26, only there will be trains between St Neots and Peterborough)
>London and Royston (Saturdays), London and Letchworth Garden City (Sundays)
>Moorgate and Stevenage (via Hertford North)
>Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City
Arsenal football match, February 2
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Hide AdOn Sunday, February 2, rail replacement buses will not run beyond Alexandra Palace, to or from Finsbury Park, between 12.30pm and 8pm because of operators’ concerns around safety and overcrowding. The Piccadilly line and Mildmay line (Overground) will also be closed in the area that day for essential improvements and the limited national rail replacement bus service could not safely accommodate the numbers of fans using them to reach the Arsenal v Manchester City match at the Emirates Stadium.
Fans are advised to travel via the Midland Main Line on Thameslink services to London St Pancras International, walking, if possible, to Euston station for Victoria line services to Finsbury Park or Highbury & Islington stations.
A rail replacement bus service will run between:
>Peterborough and Bedford via St Neots
>Peterborough and Hitchin
>Royston (or Letchworth on Sundays) and Hitchin
>Stevenage and Finsbury Park via Hertford North (note: on Sunday, February 2 between 12.30pm and 8pm, buses will run between Stevenage and Alexandra Palace only via Hertford North)
>Stevenage and St Albans City via Welwyn Garden City
>Stevenage and Luton Airport Parkway via Hitchin
> Welwyn Garden City and Finsbury Park, calling at all stations (note: on Sunday, February 2 between 12.30pm and 8pm, buses will run between Stevenage and Alexandra Palace only).
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Hide AdA Govia Thameslink Railway spokesman, said: "Please note, buses are limited and are expected to be extremely busy. You may have to queue and may not be able to board your chosen service.
"Rail replacement buses will be running, and London King’s Cross station will be closed on January 25-26 and February 1-2, as vital improvements are made to the track, drainage and overhead lines which power trains (see editors’ notes for details and a map).
"Preparatory work is also taking place as part of the East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), which will deliver more reliable, greener journeys through the introduction of in-cab digital signalling."
The engineering work includes renewing the line north of Stevenage, investment in bridge timbers south of Finsbury Park and, at Welwyn Garden City, upgrading switch and crossing equipment which allows tracks to separate, cross and rejoin.
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Hide AdTunnel drainage work will be undertaken Hadley Wood, and there will be improvements to the overhead line kit at Biggleswade and Bounds Green.
Under-track cables will be installed between Biggleswade and Peterborough to prepare for digital in-cab signalling, under the £1.4 billion ECDP project.
It follows further testing of the new signalling system having been carried out between Welwyn and Hitchin during the Christmas shutdown.
Jenny Saunders, Govia Thameslink Railway’s customer service director, said: “We’d like to thank passengers for their patience during upgrade works to bring you more reliable journeys on the East Coast Main Line.
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Hide Ad“We’ve arranged replacement buses, shuttle trains between Royston or Letchworth and King’s Lynn, and ticket acceptance on other routes to help you complete your journeys.
“Please check one of the online journey planners before you travel and allow extra time to reach your destination.”
Other East Coast Main Line operators heading further north will also be running amended services, with rail replacement bus services covering part of the journey, more details can be found here.
Check all parts of your journey with National Rail Enquiries or your train operators before travelling.
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Hide AdSimon Pumphrey, Network Rail infrastructure director, concluded: “We’re sorry to passengers affected by the disruption and thank them for their patience as we make improvements that will help make the railway more reliable.”
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