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Tuesday 11 Apr 2017

Check before you travel this Easter as railway upgrade continues

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

• £70m investment part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan, including work in Manchester, Watford and between Preston and Carlisle
• More than 95 percent of the network will be running as normal over Easter
• There will be changes to some services while Network Rail carries out the work
• The investment will provide faster and more frequent services to help relieve over-crowding on Britain's railways

Train customers are being advised to check before travelling over Easter as Network Rail will be carrying out more than 200 pieces of work as part of a £70m investment across Britain.

The majority of the rail network will remain open with no impact on services. The work is part of Britain's Railway Upgrade Plan to help provide customers with a bigger, better, more reliable railway.

Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail, said: “We are carrying out must-do railway upgrades to improve services for customers. While there is never a perfect time, doing this over bank holidays, when demand for rail travel typically halves, means fewer people will be disrupted. For those travelling by rail over Easter, we and train operators aim to keep you safely and swiftly on the move. To ensure this happens, our advice is: check before you travel and plan your journeys in advance."

Network Rail‘s orange army will be working round the clock over Easter on improvements including track renewals, upgrades and bridge replacements.

Work taking place on the line between London Euston and Carlisle, via the West Midlands and north west, includes:
- Ongoing work on the Ordsall Chord in Manchester, part of the Great North Rail Project, to provide better connections and more reliable services across the north of England
- Track renewal on the West Coast main line, through Northchurch Tunnel near Berkhamsted, to improve reliability
- Bridge upgrade work in Albrighton to increase reliability and reduce maintenance
- Embankment improvements in Watford to make them more stable
- Removing an old ‘cattle creep’ – which historically allowed cows to pass under the railway – between Buxton and Stockport to improve track reliability
- Track renewal on the West Coast main line between Preston and Carlisle to improve reliability

Where larger upgrade projects require more time, the work has been carefully planned with train operators to cause the least amount of disruption, with information provided to passengers well in advance to allow them to plan their journeys.

Further upgrade works are planned for the remaining bank holidays throughout 2017. Passengers are being advised to plan their journeys as early as possible by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk.