Network Rail

ABERDEEN Station will close for important upgrades as soon as next week.

It will affect travellers across three consecutive weekends with no trains passing through the station while the work costing £3.6million take place.

Network Rail is starting work at Aberdeen Station on January 31, 2026.

It said that the track improvements will “help boost the reliability and performance of one of the busiest parts of Scotland’s railway”.

As a result of the work, Aberdeen Station will close for consecutive weekends starting on January 31, 2026.

During the closures, teams will replace sections of rail and sleepers across multiple platforms.

FALL FOR IT

Why Sun readers love Wales – their favourite waterfalls & TV-famous castles

COAST IT

Fascinating UK holiday spot with 2 coasts, secret seaside pools & hidden beaches

Network Rail also explained that engineers will be upgrading equipment that allows trains to move between lines – almost a mile and a half of rail is set to be renewed.

No trains will run through Aberdeen Station between Saturday 31, January and Sunday 1 February, 2026.

Or Saturday 7 and Sunday 8, February and between Sunday 15 and Monday 16, February, 2026.

There are alternatives available through bus routes.

For ScotRail, buses will replace trains between Aberdeen and Dundee, Aberdeen and Montrose, Inverurie and Aberdeen, Dyce and Aberdeen. 

Rail replacement buses for CrossCountry will travel between Dundee and Aberdeen.

LNER trains between London Kings Cross and Aberdeen will run between London Kings Cross and Dundee only.

Buses will then operate between Dundee and Aberdeen, calling at Arbroath, Montrose and Stonehaven.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: “The £8m redevelopment of Aberdeen station in 2022 delivered major improvements for customers and strengthened the station’s role as a key transport interchange.

“Continued investment in essential track and infrastructure upgrades will help improve performance and provide more reliable journeys.”

Aberdeen station was redeveloped in 2022 at a cost of £8million.

During this time there were upgrades made on the passenger experience like a new open-plan ticket office and addition of a first-class lounge.

There were improved retail and eatery stops and the pavilion had restoration work.

Other upgrades made by Network Rail in 2022 were to the tracks and sleepers.

Another train station that’s set to be upgraded is Liverpool Street Station.

Network Rail have put forward proposals for the £1.2billion upgrades and recently released a fly-over video showing what the future could look like for Liverpool Street.

It shows an enlarged, light and airy concourse to ease congestion during busy periods and additional ticket barriers.

Upstairs, the video reveals more eateries and cafes for passengers to use before or after their rail journey, and outside will be more green spaces.

It also shows renders of the new office building that’s set to be built above the station concourse near the Grade II* listed Andaz Hotel.

The City of London Corporation is consulting the public on the plans until January 21.

For more on rail, this small English train station named the best in the UK and it’s getting a £1million upgrade.

And this beautiful 73-mile railway route is getting new trains for the first time in 10 years.

THE busiest railway in Britain is temporarily shutting down for demolition in a matter of hours.

This isn’t good news for anyone who was planning to travel for New Year’s Day, though the project was far from a snap decision.

In fact, engineers have spent 12 months preparing and perfecting the enormous steel structure of a new bridge set to carry trains on the West Coast Main Line over the M6.

The previous bridge in place that’s being demolished – Clifton Bridge – is now nearly 60 years old and can only carry one train at a time due to weight restrictions.

Replacing this with a brand-new bridge will smooth out services and prevent delays – beneficial to safety as well as customer satisfaction.

The new bridge will be installed by Network Rail in partnership with Skanska during a two-week period at the beginning of 2026.

RAIL PAIN

Train passengers face fare hikes after contactless rail ticket payments rollout

OFF THE RAILS

New Year misery for millions as UK’s busiest train station shuts for a WEEK

As a result the M6 will be shutting down for two consecutive weekends, including:

• 8pm on Friday January 2 and 5am on Monday January 5 2026
• 8pm on Friday January 9 and 5am Monday January 12 2026

During this time frame, the motorway will close in both directions between junction 39 at Shap and junction 40 near Penrith as well.

Further to the weekend closures, parts of the West Coast Main Line won’t be operating in the North West, so it’s necessary to check your upcoming travels:

• January 1-4 2026, the line will be closed through Preston, between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and Carlisle to Dumfries and Lockerbie
• January 5-6 2026, the line through Preston will be open. The railway between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and Carlisle to Dumfries and Lockerbie, will remain closed for work.
• January 7-14 2026, the line north of Carlisle will be open. The railway between Oxenholme and Carlisle will be closed as the work to replace Clifton bridge continues until the early hours of 15 January.

Speaking on the importance of the project Network Rail’s project manager William Brandon says: “This is a vital project which will improve journeys for passengers for decades to come. 

“While we close the railway to replace the M6 bridge we’ll also be renewing more than 80 kilometres of overhead lines and continuing our major modernisation of signalling systems.

“We appreciate passengers’ patience while this work is completed, and I would urge anyone planning to travel in this period to check National Rail Enquiries in advance.”