Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the European Train Control System on the East Coast Mainline on the feasibility of a new station at Alconbury Weald.

1) There are no current plans to construct a new East Coast Main Line (ECML) station at Alconbury Weald. The Department recognises the importance of the ECML and is starting work with Network Rail and industry stakeholders on development of a long-term strategy of investment for the route.

2) The following progress has been made on the East Coast Digital Programme. In May 2025, the first phase of the scheme was complete with the removal of conventional lineside signals, and all services using digital signalling on the Northern City Line (NCL) between Finsbury Park and Moorgate. This is the first no signals commuter railway in the country, and first of any kind since the early Cambrian Line pilot in 2011. 100,000 services have now operated on NCL using digital signalling.

The infrastructure between Welwyn and Hitchin has been upgraded for the first European Train Control System (ETCS) section on the ECML. In line with the approach taken on NCL, the Welwyn to Hitchin section will initially operate as an overlay (i.e. able to operate with both conventional and digital signalling) to facilitate driver conversion training. The work is being led by Network Rail who, subject to the necessary assurances and regulatory processes, anticipate being able to begin driver train using digital signalling through that section from summer 2026.

3) Work to implement the ETCS on the East Coast Mainline between Huntingdon and Kings Cross is scheduled to be completed in the early 2030s.