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Wednesday 15 Apr 2026

Britain’s railway open for passengers and freight during May bank holidays – but check before you travel on some routes

Region & Route:

National

The vast majority of Britain’s rail network will be business as usual for passengers travelling during the May bank holidays, despite planned engineering work.

However, passengers are being asked to check before they travel on some routes, as Network Rail teams are preparing to deliver £140.5m* of investment across 568 projects during these windows, to improve reliability.

This May’s bank holidays fall between Saturday 2 May and Monday 4 May, and between Saturday 23 May and Monday 25 May.

Anit Chandarana, Network Rail’s group director for System Operator, said:  "There is no ‘right way’ to do major work on our railway, but bank holidays are still among the least busy times for us in terms of passenger numbers and freight services. Those extra days with fewer travellers give us an opportunity to do longer projects that we couldn’t do in a normal two-day weekend or overnight.

“So while most of our railway is open as usual over the bank holidays this May, there are some exceptions and we also have two major projects getting underway in Yorkshire and between Newport and Bristol that passengers should be aware of.

“I’d advise everyone to plan ahead and check before they travel.”

 Projects planned for this May include (but are not limited to):

Early May (2-4 May):

• East Coast Main Line: Work to rebuild a junction at Tollerton on the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire means buses will replace trains between York and Darlington between Saturday and Monday, with a limited train service from Northallerton to Darlington. Trains restart on Tuesday.
• South East London: Work to improve signalling around Lewisham, complete a track renewal and footbridge installation at Hither Green means Charing Cross will be closed for all three days of the Bank Holiday, while Cannon Street is also closed on Sunday only. Trains will be diverted to London Victoria and Blackfriars. Normal service resumes on Tuesday.
• Transpennine: The Transpennine Route Upgrade programme’s major programme of improvements between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds gets underway on Saturday and runs through most of May and June, including the installation of overhead wires for electric trains, a new bridge, track and station improvements. See here for more details.
• Liverpool Lime Street is closed on Sunday and Monday only (3,4 May) for new signalling to be installed around Edge Hill.

Late May (23-25 May):

• East Coast Main Line: Work continues on rebuilding a junction at Tollerton on the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire, so buses will again replace trains between York and Darlington between Saturday and Monday, with a limited train service from Northallerton to Darlington. Trains restart on Tuesday.
• Transpennine: As above, work continues between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
• Great Western Main Line: Work gets underway on a two-week programme of improvements to the Severn Tunnel’s power supply and track around Patchway and Filton. The work will improve reliability for passengers and cutting disruptive maintenance needed in the area, as well as being a key enabler for new passenger services between Bristol and Henbury. Buses replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway with one through train an hour between South Wales and London via Gloucester from Saturday, 23 May until Sunday 7 June, with normal services resuming on Monday 8 June.
• Thameslink: Improvements to signalling and telecommunications equipment in the Thameslink “core” between Finsbury Park, St Pancras and Blackfriars means Thameslink trains from the north of London will start and end their journeys at Kings Cross and St Pancras and services from the South will start and end their journeys at London Bridge.

Passengers are advised to check with their operator on at National Rail Enquiries to plan their journeys and check for planned disruption.