Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough passengers face Christmas misery as ALL festive trains south are cancelled

There will be work on the line between Kettering and Bedford

All trains will be replaced by buses from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough to Bedford between 10pm on Christmas eve and 8am on Thursday, January 2. There will also be further overnight closures between 9.30pm and 8am each day until January 4 - meaning commuters will have to get a bus service to Bedford before picking up London services there.

Network Rail say their engineers will be using the closure to complete the construction of a fourth track between Bedford and Kettering before testing and commissioning the new line.

The work is part of the Midland Main Line Upgrade and, once complete, will increase capacity on the line, ultimately allowing more services to run in the future and connecting people to more jobs, education and leisure opportunities.

Workers are going to be upgrading the line between Christmas eve and January 4.

Passengers planning on travelling during this time are strongly urged to check before travelling via National Rail Enquiries or with East Midlands Railway. Travellers are also urged to allow additional time for their journey.

As usual, there will be no train or rail replacement services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Network Rail uses this time to carry out hundreds of maintenance and upgrade projects across the country.

Gavin Crook, Principal Programme Sponsor for Network Rail, said: “The work we are doing over the festive period is a key step in the Midland Main Line Upgrade, which will bring huge benefits for passengers across the region.

“There will be eight days of changes for passengers which is why we are urging them to plan ahead as we don’t want anyone to be disappointed. We would like to reassure passengers that this work has been planned meticulously and we are working closely with East Midlands Railway to keep passengers moving.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience during this time and apologise for any disruption caused.”

Neil Grabham, Customer Services Director, East Midlands Railway, said: “We are approaching the final stages of the Midland Main Line Upgrade which will allow us to provide quicker journeys and thousands of extra seats from December 2020.

“However, there is still more work to be done, including this Christmas period. So, I would urge passengers to check before they travel and understand the changes to their journeys during the Christmas period.”