Passengers reminded to ‘travel either side’ of early May bank holiday

Region & Route: North West & Central

  • West Coast main line passengers are urged to travel either side of the early May bank holiday (Friday 29 April and Tuesday 3 May)
  • Between Saturday 30 April and Monday 2 May no trains will run to or from London Euston - services will start and finish at Milton Keynes
  • £19.1m railway improvements will mean better future journeys for passengers and freight

Passengers travelling between London Euston and Scotland over the early May bank holiday are being urged to travel either side of the long weekend.

At Easter Network Rail invested £22m to improve future journeys for passengers and freight on the West Coast main line and key routes in the Midlands and North West.

Now a further £19.1m is being spent to complete or continue many of those major upgrades to improve passenger and freight journeys for the future.

This work means Euston station will be closed to main line train and London Overground services between Saturday April 30 and Monday 2 May due to major track upgrades in Watford and Wembley, including work to build Britain’s new zero-carbon railway HS2.

Like over Easter, trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes.

Network Rail is advising that the best time to travel will be on Friday 29 April and Tuesday 3 May.

Passengers needing to travel on the days in between could have longer journeys, fewer available seats, and may need to use rail replacement buses.

To plan journeys and for the latest travel information visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/wcml.

Dave Penney, Network Rail passenger director for the North West and Central region, said: “We made great progress on major railway improvements over Easter and I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience while we carry out more must-do work between April 30 and 2 May. We know there is never an ideal time to shut the railway but bank holidays continue to be the least disruptive time for us to carry out this essential maintenance.“With Euston closed our advice is once again to travel either side of the bank holiday on Friday 29 April and Tuesday 3 May where possible, and to plan ahead by checking National Rail Enquiries to see how your journey could be impacted.”

The essential work which will require the railway to be closed for periods between 30 April and 2 May are*:

  • Major track upgrades at Watford and Wembley
  • Railway drainage improvements in Camden to protect tracks from future flooding
  • Demolition of an old railway bridge between Birmingham New Street and Coleshill
  • Signalling – the traffic lights of the railway – being upgraded in Macclesfield
  • Bridge upgrade work in Carlisle
  • Track foundation strengthening in Warrington and Carlisle
  • Track replacement on the West Coast main line in Carstairs in Scotland

Nationally Network Rail is investing £70m on 550 projects to upgrade the railway over the early May bank holiday.

Passengers are also being advised about RMT strike action which will affect TransPennine Express services across the north of England on both Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May**.

Passengers should plan ahead at www.networkrail.co.uk/wcml, check with their train operators or visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest journey information.

Notes to Editors

*How the essential rail upgrades will impact certain routes

Major track upgrades at Watford and Wembley

  • Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway affected - no trains between Milton Keynes and Euston

Railway drainage improvements in Camden to protect tracks from future flooding

  • Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway affected - no trains between Milton Keynes and Euston

Demolition of an old railway bridge between Birmingham New Street and Coleshill

  • CrossCountry affected - bus replacements between Coleshill Parkway, Water Orton and Birmingham New Street. 

Signalling – the traffic lights of the railway – being upgraded in Macclesfield

  • Avanti West Coast, Northern and CrossCountry affected – diversions and bus replacements in place (Sunday and Monday)

Track foundation strengthening in Warrington and Carlisle

  •  Buses replace trains between Crewe and Preston, as well as Lancaster to Carlisle and Carlisle to Maryport (Sunday only)

Track replacement on the West Coast main line in Carstairs in Scotland

  • Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express affected - bus replacement services between Carlisle and Scotland 

**How strike action is affecting train travel over the bank holiday

There will be no TransPennine Express trains in operation on the West Coast main line on Saturday or Sunday and anyone that needs to make an essential journey between Liverpool/Manchester and Glasgow/Edinburgh via Preston and Carlisle should seek alternative transport or travel on Friday or Monday instead.

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