Hitchin flyover welcomes first trains

Passenger services have begun to travel along the the £47 million Hitchin flyover.

The project was designed to remove a bottleneck caused by trains travelling on the East Coast Mainline from King’s Cross having to navigate three other lines out of Hitchin station to switch to the Cambridge line.

Network Rail has said the structure will cut delays by almost 30,000 minutes each year.

First Capital Connect will run three services a day on the flyover while drivers are introduced to the new route before full service begins in December.

Network Rail route managing director Phil Verster said: “The Hitchin flyover will make a real difference to passengers who travel on the East Coast Main Line, as well as people travelling to Cambridge and beyond.

“Improving the railway at Hitchin will solve the problems caused by the current track layout and help meet growing demand on the railway.”