Multi-million-pound improvement gets underway at Crewe Station this Christmas: Crewe Station - Avanti Train Arriving

Wednesday 28 Oct 2026

Multi-million-pound improvement gets underway at Crewe Station this Christmas

Region & Route:
North West & Central
| North West & Central: North West

Rail passengers are being advised of a major investment to improve Crewe Station which starts this Christmas and continues throughout 2027.

Network Rail will carry out a wide range of improvements including renewing sections of track, upgrading signals and overhead power lines, and carrying out work to the Crewe Station roof.

The multi-million-pound investment marks the next stage of railway upgrades for one of Britain's most important transport hubs.

To complete the work as safely and quickly as possible, engineering teams will work over Christmas Day and Boxing Day when trains aren’t running so that passengers aren’t affected.

This will set the foundations for a series of further improvements during 2027, beginning with a nine-day railway closure from 13 February.

As a major interchange on the West Coast Main Line, Crewe connects communities across the North West with towns and cities throughout the Midlands, London, Wales, Scotland and beyond.

Improving the station and railway will support these important connections and boost access to jobs, education, businesses and other opportunities across the region.

Tommy Fleming, Network Rail sponsor, said: "Crewe has been at the heart of Britain's railway for generations and continues to play an important role in connecting communities across the region and the country.

"This multi-million-pound investment will deliver a safer and more reliable railway for the North, reduce the need for future maintenance and improve the experience of passengers travelling through the station.

"Delivering improvements on this scale will require a series of temporary railway closures, beginning at Christmas 2026. We're working closely with train operators and other partners to keep disruption to a minimum, and I'd encourage passengers to plan ahead and check their journeys before travelling."

Kathryn O'Brien, Customer Experience Director at Avanti West Coast, said: "These upgrades signal the start of working towards an improved experience for our customers travelling to and from Crewe.

“We are liaising with Network Rail and industry partners ahead of the nine-day railway closure in February to ensure that those making journeys during this period are informed on the alternative options available to them. More information will be available to these customers in the coming weeks once timetables have been confirmed.

“Customers should also note that no trains operate across the Avanti network on 25 and 26 December, which this year allows for works to start with no impact to services."

The latest journey travel information can be found via train operator websites or at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Contact information

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

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Niall Hood
Communications Manager - North West
Network Rail
0330 8540100 (Option 3)
Niall.Hood@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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