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Thursday 14 Apr 2022

Network Rail carrying out £70m upgrades over Early May Bank Holiday

Region & Route:

National

• Network Rail to deliver 550 upgrade projects worth £70m to upgrade railway for passengers
• Majority of network will be open for business as usual, but some routes will be affected by the works taking place, so passengers are asked to check before they travel
• Passengers asked to wear a face covering if they can as a courtesy to others

Network Rail is asking passengers to check before they travel ahead of the Early May Bank Holiday, as it prepares to invest £70m on 550 projects to upgrade the railway.

While the majority of the network – over 95% – will be unaffected by the engineering works taking place, there will be disruption on some routes.

Passengers planning to catch a train to visit family and friends or take a trip this bank holiday are urged to plan ahead and check whether their journey will be impacted by the works taking place.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “While the majority of our network will be open for business as usual, we’re asking passengers who are planning to use the railway over the Early May Bank Holiday to check their journey in advance.

“Teams across Network Rail will be delivering £70m worth of upgrades, helping to make the railway more reliable and fit for the future. A big thanks to those teams who will be working long hours or late into the night in order to get this work done swiftly and safely, while minimising the impact on our lineside neighbours.”

The major upgrade projects to be carried out over the Early May Bank Holiday weekend include:

• Plain line track renewals, switches and crossings and HS2 works at London Euston and Watford North Junction, to improve capacity and provide a more reliable and safer railway for passengers. As a result, no trains will operate between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central over the weekend.
• Commissioning of newly installed signalling equipment as part of the East Coast Digital Programme will take place on the Northern City Line. There will be no services between Finsbury Park and Moorgate between 30 April and 2 May, with services from Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City diverted to start/terminate at London King’s Cross.
• Resignalling and maintenance works between London Victoria and Balham to improve reliability. There will be no Southern trains to/from London Victoria on 1 and 2 May.
• Roof renewal works at Liverpool Street station to improve safety and the customer experience. All c2c services that usually run to/from Liverpool Street will be diverted via West Ham and will run to/from London Fenchurch Street instead.
• Work continues to upgrade the railway between Manchester and Stalybridge as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. Over the bank holiday weekend (Saturday 30 April, Sunday 1 and Monday 2 May), buses will replace some trains while some will be diverted into Manchester Piccadilly station.
• Station enhancement works at Gatwick Airport to improve capacity. An amended Thameslink timetable will be in operation between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport/Brighton between 30 April and 2 May.
• Track renewals and switches and crossings renewals at Bishops Stortford to improve performance. As a result, between 30 April and 2 May there will be bus replacement services running between Waltham Cross and Stansted Airport.

Passengers can find out how their journeys will be affected with their train operator or via National Rail Enquiries.