Thameslink passengers reminded of major upgrades between London St Pancras and Bedford this Christmas

Network Rail has issued the following press release:

Rail passengers are being urged to check before they travel this Christmas as essential upgrades will be carried out to improve reliability along the rail network for passengers for many years to come.

The work includes a programme to allow East Midlands Railway (EMR) to run its new greener fleet of bi-mode trains up to 125mph in the future, resulting in smoother and faster journeys for passengers travelling to and from the East Midlands and London.

The investment means a section of the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras and Harpenden will be closed for nine consecutive days. From Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 December, there will be no Thameslink train services between London St Pancras and Harpenden, and no East Midlands Railway services between London St Pancras and Bedford.

During this time, Network Rail teams will be working to carry out a wide range of vital improvements including:

· Continuing work to upgrade the overhead lines, which power trains, between London St Pancras and Bedford.

· Replacing the bridge deck on a road over rail bridge at Agar Grove in Camden.

· Installing a new bridge under the railway to provide access to Radlett Strategic Freight interchange.

· Around 50 maintenance and renewal jobs to improve safety and the reliability of the railway network. This includes vegetation management, track inspection and maintenance and signalling power cable and overhead power line renewals to keep the railway safe and reliable.

Passenger services will be severely disrupted while this work is taking place, so customers are being encouraged to plan their whole journey, including connections, as soon as possible.

For customers travelling between London St Pancras and destinations on the Midland Main Line, including Luton Airport Parkway, St Albans, Bedford, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield, journeys will take longer and involve a rail replacement bus.

Additionally, there will be no Thameslink train services between London St Pancras and London Bridge from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 December as engineering work will be taking place to upgrade the tracks.

Daniel Matthews, head of operations delivery for Network Rail said: “We would like to apologise to passengers who will be impacted by this vital work over the festive period. This work is essential, and it will mean smoother, faster, and more reliable journeys for customers.

“Christmas is a unique opportunity where fewer people are travelling and carrying out work then, is less disruptive to the community and therefore the best time for our teams to access the track.

“While most of the network over Christmas will be operating as normal, we are reminding all passengers to check their journeys before they travel as there is engineering work on several parts of the network on different dates during December.”

Passengers travelling north from London St Pancras will need to use different London stations to connect with rail replacement services to reach their destinations.

EMR passengers can take West Coast Main Line services from London Euston to Milton Keynes to catch a rail replacement bus to Bedford, where they will join their EMR train.

Thameslink passengers travelling to destinations between London and north of Harpenden will take East Coast Main Line services from London Kings Cross to Hitchin or Potters Bar, where they can connect to rail replacement bus services to Luton Airport Parkway, or St Albans City and Harpenden. Thameslink trains will be operating from these stations to Bedford.

Buses will replace all trains between London St Pancras and Harpenden.

Additional staff will also be on hand at stations to keep passengers on the move. Passengers are being urged to check National Rail Enquires before they travel as well as EMR’s and Thameslink’s websites and social media channels.

Jenny Saunders, Customer Service Director for Govia Thameslink Railway said: “We know how important this time of the year is to our customers, which is why, with such a lengthy period of improvement work planned over the festive period, we want to give them as much time as possible to plan ahead. It really is vital to consider your options now. Thank you for your patience.”

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director for East Midlands Railway, said: “We are working closely with Network Rail and other operators to keep customers moving throughout the festive period; however, journey times will be significantly longer than normal, with rail replacement buses and amended timetables in place.

“It is also likely that services on Friday, 20 December, and Monday, 30 December, will be very busy.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience whilst these vital engineering upgrades take place. This work will directly benefit our customers in the future, allowing the introduction of our new Aurora bi-mode trains.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Changes to train services

Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 December:

East Midlands Railway (EMR): No trains will run between London St Pancras and Bedford. Passengers travelling north from London St Pancras will need to take a train from London Euston to Milton Keynes. Rail replacement buses will run between Milton Keynes and Bedford where passengers can join EMR services to Corby, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Thameslink: No trains will run between London St Pancras and Harpenden.

Rail replacement buses will be in operation between:

· Luton Airport Parkway and Hitchin

· Harpenden, St Albans City and Potters Bar

· London St Pancras and Harpenden

A shuttle train service will run between Harpenden and Bedford.

Additionally, between Friday 27 – Sunday 29 December, there will be no Thameslink trains between London St Pancras and London Bridge.

Trains to and from London Euston station will be extremely busy. For a more comfortable journey please travel before 24 December or after 2 January.

Vital engineering work

Engineers working on the Agar Grove project which began in May 2024, will replace the full bridge deck on the bridge over the railway. Work will start after the last train on Friday 20 December and the railway will re-open in the early hours of Monday 30 December. No trains can run under the structure while the work is being carried out. Teams will also be continuing work to replace overhead power lines as part of the South of Bedford upgrade. This work will allow all trains, including EMR’s new rolling stick run up to 125mph between St Pancras and Bedford later in 2025.

Separate to Network Rail’s work, SEGRO have been constructing a new bridge which will be slid underneath the tracks on the Midland Main Line. This is part of the enabling work on Radlett Strategic Rail Freight interchange which will allow freight trains to access the site in the future.