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Thursday 5 Mar 2026

Britain’s rail network open for business this Easter – but passengers asked to check before they travel on some key routes

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National

The vast majority of Britain’s rail network will be open for passengers travelling over the Easter bank holiday weekend, helping them make the most of their spring break. 

Thanks to our carefully-planned programme of £75.5m investment during this Easter alone, aimed at improving performance for both passengers and freight services, we are ensuring most services run as normal. 

This Easter’s biggest upgrade is part of a wider £400m project to boost the reliability of the West Coast Main Line -Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway. Tackling areas that are most likely to cause delays to passengers,  the work this Easter includes: 

• £8.4m of new track to be laid at Willesden, including the renewal of switches and crossings (moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another) and £8m on new overhead power equipment around Wembley; 

• A bridge in Ledburn, just south of Leighton Buzzard will see a £6.6m investment in waterproofing the bridge to prevent future damage to the structure. Engineers will also complete over £7m of signalling upgrades nearby, which will help to reduce failures and improve the reliability of journeys. 

• Harrow & Wealdstone station will see a £5.8m investment in repairs to the station canopies and platform upgrades. 

As a result of the investment work, there will be no trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes from Good Friday to Wednesday 8 April, with trains returning on Thursday 9 April.  

Passengers travelling to or from Euston should check their journeys, as there will be diversions and replacement buses. 

Elsewhere, thousands of our engineers will be delivering more than 270 other essential upgrade projects across Britain to maintain and modernise the railway, delivering a more resilient and reliable railway for the millions of passengers who use the network day in and day out. 

Jake Kelly, Network Rail regional director for North West and Central, said:  "We know how important Bank Holidays are - particularly at Easter, when families and friends come together – and that’s why we work hard to keep as much of the network open as possible while carrying out these vital upgrades. 

"However, Bank Holidays are also among the least busy times on the railway, and the four-day period at Easter gives us a valuable opportunity to complete projects that simply can't be delivered during a normal weekend. This ensures we maximise the time our teams are out working on the tracks.  

“So passengers will see some changes and it's a good idea for people to check before they travel.” 

Works taking place this Easter include three projects on the West Coast Main Line: 

• London Euston and Milton Keynes: As above, from Friday 3 to Wednesday 8 April, no intercity trains will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes. Services will start and end at Milton Keynes with buses to Bedford for onwards trains to London St Pancras International (Bakerloo Line and Overground trains will run between Euston and Harrow/Watford every day except Saturday and Sunday). 
• Preston to Carlisle: On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 April, installation of new signals and power supply equipment means there will be no trains between Preston and Lancaster. Avanti West Coast will operate a special Preston to Carlisle train service via the Settle & Carlisle line, while TransPennine Express and Northern services will terminate at Preston, Oxenholme or Grange-over-Sands. 
• Carlisle to Glasgow Central/Edinburgh, Scotland: New track and points being installed on the West Coast Main Line in south Glasgow means that Anglo Scottish passengers will be diverted via Dumfries and Kilmarnock over all four days of the Bank Holiday and buses will replace trains on the Carstairs route between Glasgow and Edinburgh between Saturday and Monday inclusive.

Work elsewhere on the network includes: 

• London Waterloo to Clapham Junction and around Winchester: New switches and crossings (moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another) and structural repairs will mean reduced services between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction, while track improvements in Hampshire will mean buses replace trains between Winchester and Southampton over all four days of the bank holiday. 
• Margate: The installation of new tracks through Margate station will mean buses replace trains between Herne Bay and Ramsgate via Broadstairs over all four days of the Bank Holiday.

For full details of engineering work taking place this Easter, passengers are advised to check their journeys with their train operator or via National Rail Enquiries before travelling.