Buses to replace trains to London on Sunday

Passengers are being warned to expect slower journeys if traveling between Leicester and London this weekend. During Sunday 23 June, all trains between Wellingborough and London St Pancras will be replaced by buses.

The closure is due to “vital engineering works” taking place on the day, with Network Rail updating signaling controls at the southern end of the line. EMR will run trains on most of the route, but only as far south as Wellingborough.

EMR has estimated that journey times will be extended by between 30 and 60 minutes on average. EMR customers are advised to check their ticket restrictions before using other operators to avoid additional charges.

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Anyone with tickets stating they are ‘EMR only’ will have to use rail replacement bus services rather than an alternative route. Those affected will include anyone flying to or from Luton Airport on Sunday.

Anyone going to London on Sunday will need to get off the train at Wellingborough and choose a route to London. They can board an EMR bus outside the station to Bedford and from Bedford either take a second bus to Hitchin to catch a train to Kings Cross or take a bus that goes via Luton Airport to St Pancras.

Alternatively, another EMR bus service to Wellingborough will take passengers to Milton Keynes to catch the train from there to Euston station in London.

Philippa Cresswell, director of customer services for East Midlands Railway, said: “We advise customers planning to travel to or from London on 23 June to check their journeys in advance by looking for travel updates on the EMR website.

“We are working closely with Network Rail to keep customers moving throughout the engineering works and EMR services will operate where possible. Customer journeys may be longer than normal with rail replacement buses and altered timetables.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience while vital signaling work takes place on the Midland Central Line. This work will greatly benefit our customers in the future with more reliable journeys to and from London.”