Edinburgh Newcastle trains: Rail passengers facing double whammy of weekend disruption as services cancelled

Passengers travelling in and out of Scotland are to face back-to-back weekends of travel disruption due to engineering works in the north-east of England.

Network Rail has announced lines between Newcastle and Edinburgh will close on September 13 and 14, as well as on September 20 and 21.

The company said replacement bus services would be on offer for those travelling on CrossCountry and TransPennine Express services between Newcastle and Edinburgh on both weekends.

Meanwhile, LNER services will be diverted and operate an hourly train in each direction, via Carlisle. However, Network Rail said diversions would mean extended journey times for passengers by over an hour.

The network operator said replacement coaches would connect LNER customers at Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar with Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley.

Other LNER services at Peterborough, Doncaster and Durham are also impacted across both weekends | PA

All Lumo services will be between London King’s Cross and Newcastle only. On both weekends, the 8.56pm Edinburgh to Newcastle Saturday service is cancelled.

ScotRail trains between North Berwick and Dunbar and Edinburgh will be replaced by buses on the Saturdays only.

Network Rail said the work includes improvements to the track, drainage systems and overhead line equipment.

Sam MacDougall, Network Rail operations director, said: “We’re investing in the future of rail in the North-East by carrying out these essential upgrades to track, points, drainage and overhead line equipment. These improvements will help deliver more reliable journeys for passengers and freight in the years ahead.

“We appreciate that this work will mean a couple of weekends of where some journeys will take longer than usual, and we’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these improvements.”

A spokesperson on behalf of the train operators said: “Our teams will be working hard to keep passengers on the move towards their destination as quickly and efficiently as possible during this work. Latest travel information, including how customers’ journeys may be affected, can be found on our websites, social media channels or at our stations.”

Network Rail is advising passengers to check details of their journey with their train operators before travelling.