Easter weekend rail upgrades set to disrupt North West travels
Passengers urged to check before travelling ahead of major Easter weekend rail upgrades
Region & Route:
|North West & Central: North West
Passengers travelling in the North West of England are being advised to plan their journeys in advance over the Easter bank holiday weekend.
Between Friday 18 April and Monday 21 April, Network Rail will be carrying out important work to improve the reliability of the railway for passengers and freight services.
Upgrades include:
Work to prepare the railway for the almost £20m project to rebuild the Greek Street bridge in Stockport.
Essential signalling upgrades between Carlisle, Cumbria and Carstairs, Scotland.
Track upgrades near Liverpool Lime Street station.
Improvements to Salford Central station.
In Stockport, preparation for the almost £20m project to rebuild the Greek Street bridge over the Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line begins. The Greek Street roundabout is closed to traffic for one year. Between 19-22 April some services will be diverted around Stockport, while others will be replaced with buses.
Essential signalling upgrades between Carlisle, Cumbria and Carstairs, Scotland, between Saturday 19 - Monday 21 April means services on the West Coast Main Line will start and terminate at Carlisle. Bus replacement services will be in place between Carlisle, Glasgow, Dumfries and Edinburgh.
Liverpool Lime Street and lines between Mossley Hill and Huyton will be closed on Easter Sunday (20 April) to allow for track upgrades in the Liverpool City Region. Passengers should check with their train operator to plan their specific journey into Liverpool.
Also on Easter Sunday, Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) work to make Salford Central a modernised and more accessible station means that the line will be closed between Manchester Victoria and Salford Crescent. Passengers are advised to check before they travel between Bolton, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Piccadilly, Wigan, Leeds, Clitheroe and Chester.
Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “I understand that our work over Easter will inconvenience people, and I am sorry for that. Many factors go into planning when we carry important work like this, and, unfortunately, we cannot complete the work we need to do to improve the railway and keep passengers safe without causing some disruption.
“I urge passengers to check National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator to understand exactly what this portfolio of railway upgrades means for their specific journey. I’d like to thank everyone for their patience as we work to deliver a better railway in the North West.”
The Easter Bank Holiday weekend has been carefully chosen as the best time to carry out major engineering work. The four-day bank holiday gives engineers longer to access the track without disturbing most commuters on the network, and passenger numbers are the lowest on Easter Sunday (and New Year's Day). Some freight businesses close for Easter, which means fewer freight operations are impacted by the closures. Additionally, over Easter, the weather is usually better than at Christmas and New Year, meaning a safer work environment with more daylight opportunity for engineers on the tracks.
Passengers planning to travel to or from London Euston are advised to travel either side of the bank holiday weekend to avoid longer journeys and some bus replacement services. Engineering work, including the renewal of overhead lines, switches and crossings (movable sections of track), and drainage improvements will mean major service changes between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central. No trains will run between these stations on Saturday 19 April, Sunday 20 April and Monday 21 April, with Euston station closed on these days. A reduced timetable will be in effect on Friday 18 April. On these days, Caledonian Sleeper services will start and terminate at London King’s Cross.
Passengers are advised to check their journeys in advance with their train operator or via www.nationalrail.co.uk/spring.
Notes to Editors
Advice from train operators about specific journeys is as follows:
Avanti West Coast
Between Friday 18 and Monday 21 April, Avanti West Coast will be operating an amended timetable will be in place – with less frequent trains, rail replacement services and longer journey times on some routes.
Customers are strongly advised to travel either side of Saturday 19 to Monday 21 April. No trains will run to and from London Euston on these days and other parts of the West Coast Main Line are also affected. Trains on Maundy Thursday (17 April) and Good Friday (18 April) are expected to be busy.
CrossCountry
Between Saturday 19 and Monday 21 April services to and from Manchester Piccadilly won't call at Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield or Stockport. Buses will replace trains between Stafford and Macclesfield calling at Stoke-on-Trent, and between Stoke-on-Trent and Stockport, calling at Macclesfield.
East Midlands
Between Saturday 19 and Monday 21 April, an amended timetable will run on the Liverpool to Norwich route, but trains cannot call at Stockport. Rail replacement buses will operate between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly to connect with the train service.
On Easter Sunday, an amended timetable will run on the Liverpool to Norwich route, with trains running between Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham / Norwich. You are advised to use alternative services between Liverpool and Manchester. The trains cannot call at Stockport, rail replacement buses will operate between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly to connect with the train service.
London North Western
Between Friday 18 – Monday 21 April, major engineering work at London Euston means no London Northwestern Railway trains will run between London Euston and Watford Junction. London Euston - Crewe services will run between Milton Keynes Central and Crewe only.
On Sunday 20 April, no London Northwestern Railway trains will be able to stop at Liverpool Lime Street station. Trains between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool South Parkway only.
Northern
Scheduled engineering over the Easter holidays (Friday 18 -21 April) means there will be some scheduled disruption to regular services. We ask customers to check before travelling as journeys may take longer than usual and last scheduled services may be earlier in the day. Trains still run on Easter Sunday and the bank holidays, but some routes have reduced services, with a few closed completely.
TransPennine Express
From Friday 18 – Monday 21 April, no TransPennine Express trains will run between Carlisle and either Glasgow Central or Edinburgh. Replacement bus services will run between Carlisle and Edinburgh. You can use Avanti West Coast replacement bus services between Carlisle and Glasgow Central.
No trains will call at Stockport. Liverpool Lime Street - Cleethorpes services will run between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road and between Manchester Piccadilly and Cleethorpes. The trains will be diverted between Manchester and Sheffield to avoid Stockport.
On Sunday 20 April, buses will be replacing trains between Liverpool Lime Street and Warrington Central, and between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria.