Chesterfield trains face Christmas disruption

Network Rail and East Midlands Railway, which operate services in the region, are urging passengers to check before travelling over the festive period as there will be eight days of changes to services.

As usual, there will be no services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day - Network Rail, which manages Britain’s rail infrastructure, uses the time to carry out maintenance and upgrade projects across the country.

And buses will replace trains on a stretch of the line between Chesterfield and London St Pancras International for a number of days after Christmas.

Between 10pm on Christmas Eve and Saturday, January 4, Network Rail engineers are due to complete a fourth track between Bedford and Kettering as part of the Midland Main Line upgrade to increase route capacity.

However, no trains will be able to run between Market Harborough and Bedford from 10pm on December 24 to 8am on January 2 – bus replacement services will be in place,

Neil Grabham, EMR customer services director, said: “We are approaching the final stages of the 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 urge passengers to check before they travel.”

A near full train service will resume on Thursday, January 2, although some early morning and late night services will be affected for two more days.

Between January 2 and 4, buses will replace trains between Bedford and Market Harborough before 8am and after 9.30pm, while further minor work is carried out.

Passengers planning on travelling at this time are urged to check before travelling via National Rail Enquiries or EMR. Travellers are also urged to allow additional time for their journey.

Gavin Crook, Network Rail principal programme sponsor, said: “The work is a key step in the Midland Main Line upgrade, which will bring huge benefits for passengers.

“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.”