We’re preparing to make a string of vital improvements to London King’s Cross in the coming weeks to enable better and more journeys for passengers.
This weekend – July 13 and 14 – we will carry out work as part of a £1.2 billion upgrade to the East Coast Main Line.
East Coast Upgrade
The broader project is the biggest investment in the route in a generation – the East Coast Upgrade. It will complete in 2021 and provide up to 10,000 extra seats a day on long-distance services.
This means even more potential tourist traffic for locations along this busy line and better links for businesses – to London, the north of England, the coast and Scotland. Crucially, better connections will give passengers more choice with their journeys.
The new Azuma trains already run between Leeds railway station and London King’s Cross and will soon launch for services further north into Scotland.
Watch this video to see why we’re improving the track layout at London King’s Cross:
King’s Uncrossed
The route improvements come as we invest millions of pounds in the infrastructure at King’s Cross railway station. The Kings Uncrossed project will involve the replacement of track, signalling and overhead line equipment. Were also simplifying the approach to the station.
It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve this vital part of the rail network, which carries trains bound for as far afield as northern Scotland, as well as many commuter services across the South East of England and prepare the infrastructure for the future.
How are we improving London King’s Cross this month?
Over July 13 and 14 we will remove old signalling equipment from a disused railway tunnel at the station so we can lay new track in the tunnel.
We will eventually reopen the tunnel and increase the number of tracks into the station from four to six, helping to increase capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Work will also take place elsewhere along the route to reduce disruption to passengers. A reduced service will run on the route on July 13 and 14 to allow this take place safely.
What’s happening at King’s Cross this August bank holiday?
This bank holiday weekend will use a planned closure of the line for the first time in 20 years.
We will:
- Transfer signalling control of the area currently controlled by King’s Cross signal box to our state-of-the-art facility in York. This is part of a nationwide programme to bring our signallers into modern centres of excellence and allow the railway to operate more efficiently.
- Carry out work to the overhead line equipment outside King’s Cross station. This will support the power supply upgrade and improvements to the track layout and signals immediately outside the station.
- Also carry out other work on the upgrade of the East Coast.