A MULTI-MILLION pound rail project has finally come into use, ahead of its official adoption later this year.

The Hitchin flyover was trialled yesterday (Tuesday), with three trains making their way over it over the course of the afternoon.

Work on the £47m Network Rail project has been carried out for the past 18 months, with the final timetable change set to come into play late autumn/early winter.

The aim of the flyover is to reduce delays on the line and increase future capacity on services between London King’s Cross and Cambridge, which serves several Comet country stations.

Until now, First Capital Connect trains travelling from London King’s Cross have had to cross three other lines, resulting in more delays.

The rail provider will start to run up to three services a day over the flyover but by December – when it will have trained around 300 drivers on the new route – almost 600 trains a week will use the 2km single-track rail link.

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.

“The new layout means trains will run more reliably and punctually. The work we have done has cleared one of the major bottlenecks on the route and is part of our wider effort to improve performance and increase capacity on the railway.”