Train travel to be hit by £1.3m track improvement

15 October 2025

Eleanor MaslinEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — A new track will be installed at Ancaster in Lincolnshire as part of the improvement work

Network Rail An aerial view of a train track with a road going through it and fields either side with a few isolated houses. — A new track will be installed at Ancaster in Lincolnshire as part of the improvement work

New track and sleepers will be installed as part of a £1.3m investment to make train travel smoother, Network Rail has confirmed.

Work on two projects will take place on the 8 and 9 November at Ancaster, Lincolnshire and the Scarrington Lane level crossing in Nottinghamshire.

Passengers travelling between the East Midlands and Skegness on those days are advised that replacement buses will operate between Nottingham, Grantham and Sleaford.

Philippa Cresswell, East Midlands Railway (EMR) customer experience director, said: "This work will help improve the reliability of our services in the long term, and we'd like to thank our customers for their patience while it takes place."

In Ancaster, one mile (1.6km) of new track will be installed, with jointed rail from the 1950s replaced with continuous welded rail for a "smoother ride" with less future maintenance, Network Rail said.

Journey changes

Saturday 8 November

EMR services between Nottingham and Skegness will operate between Nottingham and Grantham, and between Sleaford and Skegness only.
Connecting rail replacement buses will run between Grantham and Sleaford.

Sunday 9 November

EMR services between Nottingham and Skegness will operate between Sleaford and Skegness only.
Rail replacement buses will run between Nottingham and Sleaford.
There will also be a revised timetable on Liverpool Lime Street to Norwich services.
Trains will not call at Grantham, which will be served by rail replacement buses from Nottingham.

Dan Matthews, Network Rail operations director, said: "We're investing in the long-term reliability of the railway by upgrading the track and replacing sleepers with more sustainable materials.

"These improvements will help deliver smoother, more dependable journeys for passengers."

Listen to highlights fromLincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch thelatest episode of Look Northor tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices