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Tuesday 23 Apr 2024

Passengers travelling between London Euston and Scotland urged to ‘check before you travel’ this early May bank holiday weekend

Region & Route:

North West & Central

Passengers travelling between London Euston and Scotland over the early May bank holiday are being urged to check before they travel ahead of the long weekend with Euston closed to all but London Overground passengers on Sunday 5 May. 

At Easter Network Rail worked to improve journeys for passengers and freight on the West Coast Main Line and key routes in the Midlands and North West.

Over the early May bank holiday, work will continue on many of those major upgrades to make the railway more reliable in future.

Improvement work means:

• From Saturday 4 to Monday 6 May, trains between Coventry and Birmingham New Street will be diverted and rail replacement buses will be in operation while important track improvements take place.
• Euston station will be closed to main line train services on Sunday 5 May while major track upgrades take place at Wembley, Leighton Buzzard and Stafford. Trains to and from the south on the West Coast Main Line will start and finish at Milton Keynes.
• On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 May, HS2 engineers will be continuing work prepare for a new 350m viaduct being built over the existing railway in Wendover which will mean changes to journeys between Great Missenden and Aylesbury.
• From Saturday 4 to Monday 6 May, engineers are carrying out major railway upgrades across the North West network. Passengers travelling between Crewe, Liverpool, Warrington, Runcorn, Wigan, Bolton, Manchester, Preston and Carlisle are advised to check before they travel.

Network Rail is advising passengers to check their journeys in advance as people needing to travel between Saturday 4 May and Monday 6 May could have longer journeys, fewer available seats, and may need to use rail replacement buses.

James Dean, passenger director for Network Rail’s 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 4 May and 6 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 check before you travel over the long weekend, and to plan ahead by checking National Rail Enquiries to see how your journey could be impacted.”

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.