Disruption to train services from Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough this weekend
Rail bosses are warning passengers of engineering work during the next two weekends that will cause major disruption to journeys to London.
Passengers are being advised to check before they travel and plan ahead as multi-million-pound Midland Main Line upgrades continue and buses replace trains.
This weekend (Saturday, September 21 and Sunday 22), a reduced timetable for EMR services will operate between London St Pancras International and Luton with a connecting rail replacement bus service between Luton and Bedford.
And next weekend (Saturday, September 28 and Sunday 29) there will be no EMR trains running between Bedford and London St Pancras International. An amended train service will run between Sheffield / Derby / Leicester / Corby and Bedford only.
Rail replacement buses will run between Bedford and Hitchin, connecting at Hitchin for alternative trains services to and from London.
For Thameslink customers, buses will replace trains between Luton and Bedford.
Engineers will be working to upgrade existing overhead lines which power trains and track south of Bedford.
They will also be installing new switches and crosses south of Bedford, the specialist equipment used by trains to cross from one track to another.
The South of Bedford upgrade is part of a wider scheme to improve the Midland Main Line to allow East Midlands Railway (EMR) to run its new fleet of electric trains up to 125mph in the future.
Separate to the Midland Main Line work, teams will be upgrading track in preparation for the Agar Grove bridge project and carrying out drainage work between Radlett and Agar Grove.
The latest upgrades will see changes to journeys over the next two weekends and passengers are being advised to plan ahead by visiting the National Rail website.
Gavin Crook, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Midlands route said: “This work will allow our teams to complete upgrades South of Bedford as part of the wider Midland Main Line scheme to bring passengers more reliable journeys.
“Upgrading track for the Agar Grove bridge project is an essential step ahead of the main bridge construction later in the year.
"We encourage customers to plan ahead with their journeys so they are up to date with the latest information, and we would like to thank passengers for their continued patience.”