Rail services between Newcastle and Edinburgh are expected to face significant disruption over the coming weekends due to planned engineering work, according to announcements from three train operators.

LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express have all confirmed that their services on the route will be affected as upgrades take place. The work, which began last weekend, is scheduled to continue through the weekend of October 3 and 4, with further activity planned on consecutive weekends.

LNER said it will run an approximately hourly service between England and Scotland during the affected weekends, but trains will be diverted via Carlisle, resulting in journey times extended by up to two hours. For local travel, rail replacement coaches will operate between several stations including Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston, and Dunbar. The company advised passengers to plan their journeys carefully and allow extra time.

Northern reported that services would be amended between Newcastle and stations such as Morpeth, Chathill, and Ashington. For the upcoming weekend, bus replacements will run between Newcastle and Morpeth, Chathill, and Ashington. Northern also noted that tickets will be valid on the Tyne & Wear Metro between Newcastle and Northumberland Park at no additional cost during this period.

TransPennine Express confirmed there would be no train services between Newcastle and Edinburgh or Dunbar over the weekend due to the engineering improvements. The company pointed to LNER’s diverted service via Carlisle for longer distance passengers traveling between Scotland and England and noted that rail replacement bus services would operate locally between Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Edinburgh.

Passengers travelling along this corridor are being urged by all three carriers to check schedules in advance and accommodate extra travel time during the ongoing engineering work, which aims to improve infrastructure and service reliability on this busy route.