4 day closure of ECML south of Peterborough

[Centralsimon]

Going to be fun. ECML closed south of Peterborough for 4 days, including a Monday and Tuesday

Given the over reliance on DO NOT TRAVEL and warnings of very limited buses, I can't help but wonder this is not going to be great

Anyone know if there are more closures planned in 2024?

Whatever happened to the plans to divert to Liverpool street or even Cambridge?

 

[317362]

When's this?

 

[cslusarc]

Are you referring to the East Coast Digital Upgrade in February between Kings Cross ang Grantham?

 

[Steve Harris]

When's this?

At a guess.... the 17th-20th February (info courtesy of RTT).

 

[Bald Rick]

Anyone know if there are more closures planned in 2024?

Not on weekdays (except Christmas at York)

 

[Failed Unit]

is it just me, but these works seem to be taking us users of the line by surprise. For example on the East Coast digital posters at Welwyn Garden City there is no mention of this. The 2 weekend closures at in January would have got planned for months (maybe years) but the level of communications about it seems to be minimal. I see It is listed on the website, but I don‘t why this isn’t as of today shown anywhere at Welwyn Garden City station.

It is half term so the impact may be smaller. But I suspect lots of people heading to the the midland mainline.

The post above by Bald Rick, seems to imply more weekend closures, again these will be planned months ahead,

But nothing on this site

East Coast Digital Programme - Network Rail

We're transforming the East Coast Mainline, using digital train control technology to deliver a better, more dynamic and reliable service.

www.networkrail.co.uk

​

Saturday 6, Sunday 7 January and Saturday 13, Sunday 14 January​

No services to/from London King’s Cross, Moorgate or St Pancras via Finsbury Park and Grantham/Letchworth Garden City.

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 February​

No services between Grantham and Huntingdon. This disruption is due to essential track renewals.

Saturday 17 February to Tuesday 20 February​

No services between Peterborough/Royston and Potters Bar/Hertford North.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

is it just me, but these works seem to be taking us users of the line by surprise. For example on the East Coast digital posters at Welwyn Garden City there is no mention of this. The 2 weekend closures at in January would have got planned for months (maybe years) but the level of communications about it seems to be minimal. I see It is listed on the website, but I don‘t why this isn’t as of today shown anywhere at Welwyn Garden City station.

It is half term so the impact may be smaller. But I suspect lots of people heading to the the midland mainline.

The post above by Bald Rick, seems to imply more weekend closures, again these will be planned months ahead,

But nothing on this site

East Coast Digital Programme - Network Rail

We're transforming the East Coast Mainline, using digital train control technology to deliver a better, more dynamic and reliable service.

www.networkrail.co.uk

​

What are they doing that needs a four day closure? ETCS is supposed be simpler than conventional signalling but at this rate the ECML is in for a lot of disruption for what real benefit.

 

[Failed Unit]

What are they doing that needs a four day closure? ETCS is supposed be simpler than conventional signalling but at this rate the ECML is in for a lot of disruption for what real benefit.

They seem to be doing a lot of other work at the same time, I am sure others will have the detail, but in pervious blockades they have also replaced track in the Welwyn Garden City area. David Horne said they were equipment in the tunnels to cut out the mobile network black-spots.

But I hope that it is soon all done,

 

[snowball]

The main Network Rail press release site has, for some reason, two versions of a press release that have both been up since Monday.

 

[Centralsimon]

The issue is, industry appears to rely on DO NOT TRAVEL and fears of extremely limited bus replacements to manage closures

While this isn't great at weekend, during weekdays this is worse

I notice GTR are claiming an extremely limited bus replacement and work from home.

It really feels like being a user of the ECML is very secondary, prolonged LNER strikes, 4 day closures, new tickets.

 

[frediculous]

Presumably Thameslink tickets on the Peterborough route are being accepted at Bedford or Cambridge. I haven't seen any mention of that

 

[Retorus]

An odd opening post to not include the date, thankfully people know now.

 

[Stampy]

Can remember being shoved into a taxi with two other people a few years from Bedford back to Peterborough after our delayed Thameslink train missed the last RRB back to Peterborough....

 

[12LDA28C]

When this happened last year, WCRC ran top-and-tailed LHCS shuttles from Liverpool Street to Peterborough via Cambridge. Will we see the same again?

It really feels like being a user of the ECML is very secondary, prolonged LNER strikes, 4 day closures, new tickets.

Or you could look at it another way and say the ECML is pioneering ticketing reforms and having a substantial amount of money spent on a new, state-of-the-art signalling system...

 

[Bald Rick]

When this happened last year, WCRC ran top-and-tailed LHCS shuttles from Liverpool Street to Peterborough via Cambridge. Will we see the same again?

Nope.

That service was provided because the WCML was also closed near Preston, and there was no direct route to Scotland. The services via Cambridge were to connect into LNER services to Edinburgh.

Of course, what happened was that the were largely patronised by enthusiasts.

 

[D1537]

It is half term so the impact may be smaller. But I suspect lots of people heading to the the midland mainline.

Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February are not in half term, which is the week before for nearly all places. Half term is early this year because Easter falls at the end of March.

 

[jon0844]

Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February are not in half term, which is the week before for nearly all places. Half term is early this year because Easter falls at the end of March.

It is half term in Hertfordshire?

 

[D1537]

It is half term in Hertfordshire?

Ah - yes, interestingly it is (and Cambridgeshire as well), so perhaps that's the plan.

London is the week before, though, as are most places further up the ECML (Notts, Lincs, Yorkshire etc.) so all of those will be impacted in terms of work travel to and from London.

I don't suppose they can win either way, really.

 

[zwk500]

Ah - yes, interestingly it is (and Cambridgeshire as well), so perhaps that's the plan.

London is the week before, though, as are most places further up the ECML (Notts, Lincs, Yorkshire etc.) so all of those will be impacted in terms of work travel to and from London.

I don't suppose they can win either way, really.

Don't adjacent areas often stagger their half terms? It's difficult to pick any time when people won't be impacted by a closure of the ECML.

 

[D1537]

Don't adjacent areas often stagger their half terms? It's difficult to pick any time when people won't be impacted by a closure of the ECML.

Depends on the half term. The one in the summer term is always the same for everyone, because it's got the late May bank holiday in it (and therefore if you had it on a different week you'd have to extend the term by a day, which is obviously not a good idea since they mostly end on a Friday).

As for the others, they aren't fixed so these days it seems that the majority of the country has one week, with a minority (this time including Herts/Cambs) on another. As someone who works in education, it's very messy and really should be rationalised so that everyone's off at the same time. You can have situations like teachers who work in the county next door and have different holidays from their kids, or even, near county boundaries (where the nearest secondary is in another county), kids from the same family off at different times.

It's not only half terms, either. Some counties, like Leicestershire, always break up for summer a week earlier than most others (this dates back to the days of company shutdowns) so therefore they go back a week earlier in Aug/Sep as well. I've known adjacent counties to have different Easter holidays as well.

 

[jon0844]

I thought the plan was to stagger holiday times so parents (and teachers) wouldn't always get ripped off on holidays etc.

Indeed, I even thought there was a plan to shorten the summer holiday to four weeks and extend other terms or half-terms?

 

[E6007]

Has been muted but not translated into a plan. Quietly dropped I suspect

 

[D1537]

I thought the plan was to stagger holiday times so parents (and teachers) wouldn't always get ripped off on holidays etc.

Indeed, I even thought there was a plan to shorten the summer holiday to four weeks and extend other terms or half-terms?

No, it's always been the case. And parents/teachers (there is of course some overlap!) still get ripped off on holidays, because holiday companies merely keep their prices up one week either side of any school holidays (because they know some parents will try to turn a one week holiday into two). Indeed, the prices often go up *two* weeks before the English/Welsh summer holidays, because that's when Scotland and N.Ireland break up.

There is some debate about whether to fiddle around with the holidays by moving them about from summer to elsewhere (personally I'd be good with that, but I understand why others wouldn't), but it wouldn't make any difference as far as rip-off pricing was concerned, because the holiday companies would simply put their prices up for those times instead.

 

[mlambeuk]

Why aren't Grand Central running, surely they could run Sunderland to York and Bradford to Doncaster

 

[greyman42]

Why aren't Grand Central running, surely they could run Sunderland to York and Bradford to Doncaster

Lack of demand?

 

[Bald Rick]

Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February are not in half term, which is the week before for nearly all places. Half term is early this year because Easter falls at the end of March.

Ah - yes, interestingly it is (and Cambridgeshire as well), so perhaps that's the plan.

London is the week before, though, as are most places further up the ECML (Notts, Lincs, Yorkshire etc.) so all of those will be impacted in terms of work travel to and from London.

I don't suppose they can win either way, really.

Yes it’s half term, and theres more people using GN / TL services at the south end of the ECML than on long distance, plus long distance travel has Monday as its quietest day, so …..

 

[harz99]

Why aren't Grand Central running, surely they could run Sunderland to York and Bradford to Doncaster

Because the vast majority of their customer base want to travel to London by train...

 

[Magdalen Road]

There's no RRB listed for my commute on national rail - it gives reroute via Tottenham Hale. An additional hour of travel each way, with presumably no delay repay. This comes 2 weeks post overtime ban and strikes. Thanks to the forum.fof highlighting this also affects the Cambridge line.

 

[185143]

Lack of demand?

Lack of effort?

They (in my experience) carry plenty of passengers from the North East to York and back of a weekend, so to imply passenger numbers won't warrant it isn't true.

But wether they want those passengers is another matter!

 

[Starmill]

Lack of effort?

They (in my experience) carry plenty of passengers from the North East to York and back of a weekend, so to imply passenger numbers won't warrant it isn't true.

But wether they want those passengers is another matter!

The problem is that the cost of running those services is so large that it's always going to be cheaper to turn that money away. Or are you suggesting subsidising GC to run that? If so I'd say it's probably not the worst use of money you could think of.