Easter bank holiday travel advice for North West rail passengers: Work to the canopies at Lancaster station

Tuesday 19 Mar 2024

Easter bank holiday travel advice for North West rail passengers

Region & Route:
North West & Central: North West

Rail passengers travelling in the North West this Easter are being reminded to check before they travel while major railway upgrades take place to improve future journeys between 29 March and 1 April.

£13.4 million is being invested across Network Rail's North West & Central region, including a catalogue of upgrades to tracks, bridges and essential railway equipment on the North West route.

The work includes:

  • Improving the track, drainage and overhead line equipment between Acton Bridge and Euxton Balshaw Lane, via Warrington.
  • Continuing the Wigan to Bolton electrification project.
  • Improving the track and strengthening bridges between Morecambe and Carnforth.
  • Upgrading the station platform canopies at Lancaster station.

Passengers are also being advised to travel either side of the Easter bank holiday for journeys to London Euston.

Network Rail is investing £7m to upgrade over a kilometre of track near Euston station which will mean more reliable journeys for passengers travelling in and out of the major London station.

Apart from London Overground services, there will be no trains in or out of Euston station between Friday 29 March and Monday 1 April 2024.

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “We know there’s never an ideal time to close the railway. The four-day Easter bank holiday remains the least disruptive time for carrying out complex upgrades to make the railway safe and reliable for passengers and freight in the future.

“I’d advise people to please plan ahead and check National Rail Enquiries. There will be longer journeys with rail replacement buses from Good Friday to Easter Monday on some routes.”

Passengers should plan ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk  or check with their train operator for the latest journey information. People can follow the progress of improvement work using the #EasterRailWorks hashtag on X (formally) Twitter.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - North West & Central Region
0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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