Yorkshire rail passengers warned to prepare for five weekends of disruption

Rail upgrades north of York will cause disruption for passengers for five weekends in a row.
York StationYork Station
York Station

Network Rail is planning major signalling and track changes which will see diversions in place and rail replacement buses in operation.

HS2 will transform the country's economy 'for the next 100 years'The work will begin on Sunday February 24 and take place over the following four weekends too.

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Engineers will move control of the signalling from the Bowesfield box in Stockton to York's main operating centre, upgrade Urlay Nook level crossing in County Durham and improve track in the area.

TransPennine Express services between Manchester Airport/Piccadilly and Middlesbrough will be diverted to run to/from Darlington and buses will replace services between Northallerton and Middlesbrough.

Grand Central services between London and Sunderland will be diverted via Durham which will extend journey times by up to 30 minutes. Rail replacement bus services will run between Eaglescliffe and Hartlepool.

The upgrade to signalling follows on from the completion of similar schemes in the north which have seen control of signalling from across East and West Yorkshire move from old-fashioned lineside signal boxes to the more modern, state-of-the-art rail operating centre in York, which brings greater reliability to the railway.

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The projects will also impact on services on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 March, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 March and Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 March.

Rob McIntosh, Network Rail Route Managing Director said: ]

“We apologise to passengers who will be inconvenienced for a total of five weekends whilst we undertake this vital £3.5 million signalling and track enhancement project. We appreciate there is never a good time to work on the railway and we are working closely with train operating companies to keep disruption to a minimum.

“The Great North Rail projects is bringing tangible benefits to customers across the North of England. The work carried out will create a more modern and reliable railway which will allow us to provide a better experience to the passengers and communities we serve. We thank passengers for their patience and look forward to them being able to enjoy an enhanced service going forward."