Network Rail hopes the opening of the new Hitchin flyover will help to ensure trains run more smoothly.

The company has completed a £47 million scheme to remove a major bottleneck in the south-east and new timetables will be released in December 2013.

Before the Hitchin bypass was built, services leaving King's Cross in London bound for Cambridge had to switch between three lines, meaning any disruptions had a huge knock-on effect.

However, this problem has now been eradicated and Network Rail thinks the new development will reduce delays by up to 30,000 minutes every year.

The company was recently urged by the Office of Rail Regulation to significantly enhance the reliability of rail services up and down the country by 2019 and schemes such as this will go some way to ensuring punctuality targets are met.

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."