Rail disruption warning for engineering works

Rail passengers in the East Midlands have been advised to check before they travel over two weekends in August.

Journeys will be affected by engineering work in Derbyshire and just over the Nottinghamshire border on Saturday and Sunday, and the following weekend of 22 and 23 August, Network Rail said.

A £5.46m programme of work will see the renewal of 495m (1,624ft) of drainage systems at Alfreton, and points at Blackwell South and Trowell junctions.

Northern will have rail replacement buses running between Sheffield and Nottingham during the work, while East Midlands Railway (EMR) will have an amended timetable on the Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich route.

EMR trains will not call at Ilkeston, Langley Mill or Alfreton, and there will be a significantly reduced service for Sheffield due to the disruption.

Passengers for these stations can use Northern's rail replacement buses at no extra cost, Network Rail said.

Eric Larocque, Network Rail operations director, apologised to anyone whose journey is affected and said the work would "help make the railway more reliable for passenger and freight services in the East Midlands".

The works follow almost half a kilometre of track renewal through Alfreton Tunnel on 8 and 9 August, which led to disruption for passengers.

Engineers worked over the weekend to replace ageing track components using specialist safety measures, including mobile ventilation systems.

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