Network Rail to renew 3.6km of track near Ancaster in £3m Lincolnshire job

Network Rail will spend £3m renewing more than 3.6km of track near Ancaster in Lincolnshire over two November weekends, with rail replacement buses running between Grantham and Sleaford on 7-8 and 14-15 November.

The infrastructure owner said the project would install more than 5,600 new sleepers and 5,636 tonnes of new ballast. Its teams will use specialist engineering trains and road-rail vehicles to deliver the renewal.

The announcement, published on Thursday 29 October under Network Rail's Eastern region, East Midlands route, said the investment would bring improved, more reliable journeys for passengers.

Eric Larocque, Network Rail's East Midlands operations director, said: "This investment will help provide a safer and more reliable railway for passengers and freight services."

He said renewing track, sleepers and ballast would reduce the need for unplanned maintenance and help deliver more reliable journeys.

Three Lincolnshire renewals

The Ancaster job is the third and largest track renewal Network Rail has announced in Lincolnshire since late September. It follows £1.5m of work near Snelland and £1.4m between Sleaford and Boston, both carried out in October.

Scheme	Value	Track renewed	Disruption
Ancaster	£3m	More than 3.6km	7-8 and 14-15 November
Snelland	£1.5m	Nearly 1.2km	17-18 October
Hubbert's Bridge to Swineshead	£1.4m	More than 730m	10-11 October

The Snelland project, announced on 6 October, renewed nearly 1.2km of track on the Lincoln to Cleethorpes line using nine engineering trains. Buses replaced trains between Cleethorpes and Lincoln and Barton-on-Humber on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October.

The Sleaford to Boston scheme, announced on 24 September, renewed more than 730 metres of track between Hubbert's Bridge and Swineshead. Swineshead level crossing on the A17 was closed to road traffic and pedestrians from 21.15 on Friday 9 October until 07.10 on Monday 12 October.

Network Rail said the long-term benefits of that renewal included reduced maintenance and removing the need for temporary speed restrictions caused by deteriorating track.

Earlier work at Ancaster

Network Rail also carried out track work at Ancaster a year earlier. In an October 2025 notice it said it would install 1.6km of new track at Ancaster on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 November 2025 as part of a £1.3m investment, replacing jointed rail dating from the 1950s with continuous welded rail. Buses were to replace trains between Nottingham and Grantham and Sleaford for that possession too.

Network Rail, which is responsible for maintaining and renewing 20,000 miles of track, describes sleepers as the supports for the rails and ballast as the stones beneath the track that give support. Its track guidance says that after a renewal there is usually a line speed restriction of around 50mph for a week while the ballast settles.

Passenger arrangements

Over both November weekends, trains between Nottingham and Skegness will run to an amended timetable between Nottingham and Grantham and between Sleaford and Skegness. Buses will call at all stations between Grantham and Sleaford.

Philippa Cresswell, customer experience director for East Midlands Railway, asked customers travelling between Nottingham and Skegness to "plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys, as rail replacement buses will operate between Grantham and Sleaford."

On Saturday 7 November the 18.51 Liverpool Lime Street to Sleaford service will terminate at Grantham at 22.10.