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Tuesday 7 Oct 2025

Future-proofing the West Coast Main Line this Christmas and New Year

Region & Route:

North West & Central

Rail passengers are being given advanced notice of a huge programme of journey improving upgrades on the West Coast Main Line this Christmas and New Year.

Between 24 December and 15 January, hundreds of essential projects will take place to make future journeys more reliable for passengers and freight.

It’s all part of an ongoing investment of £196m by Network Rail into both the northern and southern sections of one of Britain’s busiest rail routes.

The largest projects this Christmas and New Year are:

• A £26m upgrade to a vital railway junction across all four main lines at Hanslope in Northamptonshire between 24 December and 5 January*.
• A £16m investment into Preston station’s signalling system between 1 – 5 January 2026**.
• A rolling £61m programme of signalling upgrades at Kingmoor, north of Carlisle between 1 - 7 January***.
• The main phase of a £60m railway bridge replacement over the M6 at Penrith in Cumbria between 31 December - 15 January****.

The remaining £33m accounts for numerous more railway renewals to overhead power lines, station platforms, bridges, track and signalling systems along the length of the 309-mile route between London Euston and the Scottish border.

The renewals in December and January are integral to Network Rail’s long-term vision to ensure the West Coast Main Line stays fit for the future.

For the work to safely take place, significant sections of the line will need to be entirely closed to train traffic over a 22-day period between 24 December and 15 January.

Network Rail has been working closely with train operators to try and keep passengers on trains for as much of their journey as possible; for instance, the Settle to Carlisle line will be used as a diversionary route for long-distance services for the first time in a decade.

Where there are no alternative rail routes, replacement buses will be in place to get people to where they need to be.

Standard practice is for journey planner websites like National Rail Enquiries to start showing alternative travel information 12 weeks in advance.

So over the coming weeks, anyone planning journeys on the West Coast Main Line this Christmas and New Year are encouraged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk as soon as the timetables amended for the major railway upgrades go live.

During the 22 days, passengers are advised to allow extra time for travel, expect trains to be busier, and be aware some sections of their journey could be by bus.

Christian Irwin OBE, Network Rail North West & Central region Capital Delivery director, said: “This Christmas and New Year we’ll be investing tens of millions of pounds as part of our long-term commitment to make the West Coast Main Line fit for the future.

“Our ambitious programme, with numerous large-scale journey improving projects, will mean certain sections of the route will have to close across 22 days this festive season. For that reason, our advice to anyone planning to travel on the West Coast Main Line between London and Scotland is to plan your journeys as early as possible by visiting National Rail Enquiries.”

Over the next decade, the rail industry is delivering a multi-million-pound renewal programme across the north of the West Coast Main Line.

The once-in-a-generation West Coast Modernisation programme will drive up train performance and boost economic growth between Cheshire and Scotland.

Away from the West Coast Main Line this Christmas, Network Rail is also carrying out major improvements right across the national network.

For more information on those schemes visit: