Media centre

Tuesday 16 Dec 2014

Christmas warning for passengers planning to use the West Coast main line over the festive period

Region & Route:

Passengers are being advised to avoid the West Coast main line and to check before they travel over the Christmas period as Network Rail continues its programme of investment and improvements.

The route will be closed between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead after the last trains on Christmas Eve until Monday 29 December. It will also be closed between Stafford and Crewe after the last trains on Christmas Eve until Sunday 28 December.

The closure between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead is necessary to bring new signalling into use which will help to provide a more resilient and reliable service. It will build on the track renewals and overhead line improvements which have already taken place.

The closure between Stafford and Crewe is part of a £250m investment to provide faster services and capacity for more trains, including building a new section of railway over the existing main line which will remove the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line.

To minimise disruption Network Rail, Virgin Trains and London Midland are advising passengers to avoid the West Coast main line unless absolutely necessary and use alternative routes. Journeys made on the West Coast main line in and out of London and between the West Midlands and north west of England will be longer and are likely to involve a bus replacement service. Other routes around the country are likely to be busier as a result.

The closures will affect passengers from across parts of Scotland, north Wales, the West Midlands, north west and those travelling between Rugby, Northampton and Milton Keynes into London. Full details and alternative routes are available on the National Rail Enquires website at www.nationalrail.co.uk/christmas.

Jim Syddall, acting route managing director for Network Rail, said: “There is never a good time to carry out this type of work and we have liaised closely with the train operators to plan for it to take place at a quieter time on the railway.

“The section of track at Watford is one of the most intensively used, high-speed pieces of railway in Britain and has seen tremendous growth in traffic and passengers over the last five years.

“Norton Bridge, between Stafford and Crewe, is the last remaining bottleneck on the West Coast main line and the new flyover will help to increase capacity and allow linespeed improvements through the area.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused but the work is essential to improve the network and maintain reliable services for the millions of passengers who travel on the West Coast main line every year.”

Network Rail will continue to work with train operators to provide passengers with information in the build up to, and during, the work to minimise disruption as much as possible.

Terry Oliver, London Midland’s head of West Coast services, said: “Passengers who need to travel to London during the closure should consider taking a different route or postponing travel until a later date.

“London Midland will be running a rail-replacement bus operation to and from Stanmore on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December. However, journeys into central London will be much longer and will involve changes.

“There will be extra staff deployed at key locations along the affected route to provide customer assistance and make journeys as straightforward as possible.

“I’d like to thank our passengers for their patience and cooperation while these essential works take place.”

Phil Bearpark, Virgin Trains’ executive director for operations and projects, said: “The weekend of 27/28 of December will involve longer journeys, changes and potential overcrowding for passengers travelling to and from London on the West Coast main line.

“If it is possible for passengers to defer their travel until Monday or Tuesday, when normal services resume, we’d urge them to do that. If it is necessary to travel over that weekend, it’s really important to plan your journey and get advice from Virgin Trains to help you identify the best route.

“We have worked really hard with Network Rail over the last weeks and months to get the message out to customers about the disruption they will face over this weekend so they can plan appropriately.”