Monday 20 Aug 2018
London Euston re-opens after first of three weekend upgrades is completed on time
- Region & Route:
- | North West & Central
London Euston station re-opened today (Monday 20 August) after the first stage of work to replace North Wembley junction was completed.
As part of the Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail engineers worked round-the-clock over the weekend (18-19 August), the first of three weekends’ work which will see North Wembley junction completely replaced.
The West Coast main line fully reopened this morning on time, as planned, with services running to a normal timetable.
The junction, on Europe’s busiest mixed use section of railway, is old and replacing it will mean passenger and freight users will benefit from better, more reliable journeys in future.
Passengers are being reminded that, to complete the replacement, the line and London Euston station will be closed to trains this bank holiday weekend (25-27 August) and on 1-2 September.
James Dean, chief operating officer for the London Northwestern route at Network Rail, said: "I would like to thank passengers for their understanding while we carry out his vital work. There is never an ideal time to shut the railway but these three summer weekends are the least disruptive times to do it as there are typically fewer passengers travelling.
“We have worked together for the past three years with train operators to carefully plan this closure of the railway in a way that minimises the impact on customers.
“It’s vital the track at North Wembley is replaced to continue to safely meet the huge demand of passenger and freight rail services on the West Coast main line.”
A section of track and ballast has been completely replaced with further work set to continue this weekend and next.
Train passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance at www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast and using information on their train operators’ websites.
If customers cannot avoid travelling on these weekends, they’re advised to expect very different journeys to normal - busier trains and longer, diverted routes.
Euston’s shops and access to London Underground will remain available throughout the next two weekends.
Notes to Editors
|
Notes to editors |
|
Virgin Trains services will start and finish at a combination of Rugby and Milton Keynes, with a reduced service north to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland. London Northwestern Railway From 25 – 27 August, services will start and terminate at Hemel Hempstead. Buses will also replace trains between Birmingham International and Rugby due to work at Coventry. On 1 & 2 September services will start and terminate at Milton Keynes Central. During this work, buses will connect train services to Stanmore Underground station for alternative connections to and from central London. The closures will impact all West Coast main line train services as far afield as Edinburgh and Glasgow and all services on other routes are expected to be busier and take longer than usual. Queuing systems will be in place at some stations, and bus replacements may also be used - passengers are urged to not travel on these three weekends unless essential. A national advertising campaign was launched in mid-June to raise awareness about the changes to services. Adverts are on websites, at train stations and on commercial radio stations in areas serving the West Coast main line on the route to and from Euston. There are station announcements and train operating companies are reminding passengers of the closures. There are programmes of events and sporting fixtures across the country over the three weekends. Network Rail has communicated with event organisers and clubs to help make sure that visitors are aware of the closures at Euston. Passengers should plan ahead and always check before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast |
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
07740 782954
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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk