Limited services at Sunderland station over bank holiday weekend
Rail passengers have been warned to check timetables before travelling over the bank holiday weekend due to planned engineering work.
Network Rail teams will be carrying out repairs at three locations, to improve the reliability of the railway.
The work includes upgrading the drainage at Sunderland station to help prevent flooding, and upgrading the Tile Shed level crossing at East Boldon.
There will also be new switches and crossings, which allow trains to move safely between lines, installed at Pelaw, Gateshead.
As a result of the work, the following changes will affect passengers on Sunday, May 3 and Monday, May 4:
- Buses will replace Northern services between Newcastle and Horden;
- There will be no Grand Central services to or from Sunderland;
- Metro services will not run between Pelaw and South Hylton. A replacement bus – service 901 – will operate between South Hylton and Heworth, calling at all stations. This bus service will extend to Monument from about 8.30pm on May 3 until about 10.30am on May 5.
Gunnar Lindahl, joint operations director for Network Rail and LNER, said: “By upgrading track equipment, level crossings and drainage, we’re helping to reduce future delays and keep services running safely. We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this essential work is completed and encourage them to check their journeys before travelling.”
A spokesperson for the train operating companies said: “Because of this planned engineering work, some services to and from Sunderland will be altered on May 3 and the bank holiday of 4 May, with replacement buses operating on parts of the route.
"Customers are encouraged to plan ahead and check journey details in advance.”
Elsewhere, on the East Coast Main Line, work to rebuild a junction at Tollerton on the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire means buses will replace trains between York and Darlington between Saturday, May 2 and Monday, May 4, with a limited train service from Northallerton to Darlington.
Trains will return to normal service on Tuesday. However, passengers can also expect similar disruption during the second bank holiday in May.