Monday 27 Apr 2009
NETWORK RAIL - MAY DAY BANK HOLIDAY RAIL IMPROVEMENT WORK
- Region & Route:
Following the successful delivery of rail improvements across Britain at Easter, Network Rail will be at work on the West Coast main line this May Day bank holiday investing £millions in continuing improvements on this busy, and intensively used route.
The work is just part of the £35bn that will be invested in the railways over the next five years delivering real improvements for passengers and freight users as the company builds a bigger, better railway.
Work in the Midlands includes:
· Track, overhead line, signalling and power supply work along the route, particularly in the Milton Keynes area, on Saturday and Sunday, with the line reopening at midday on Monday
Jo Kaye, route director, said: “This, and other work we’re undertaking over the bank holiday, will result in passengers enjoying even more reliable and comfortable journeys in the future.
“Fewer people travel at bank holidays, so this is the least disruptive time to undertake our improvements, thus reducing impact on passengers.
“We have worked closely with train operators to offer alternative routes for train services enabling passengers to stay on trains and reducing the need for bus replacement. This bank holiday over 2,000 more trains will run than last year. We are aiming to do even more of this type of alternative planning in the future.”
Although most of the network is open as usual, Network Rail advises travellers to plan their journeys in advance. Passengers can check before they travel with National Rail enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 or at www.nationalrail.co.uk/holidays .
Notes to editors
The work in the Milton Keynes area on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning means services from the Midlands will terminate and start back from Rugby including calls at Coventry or Nuneaton. A train service will operate in both directions from Nuneaton and Coventry direct to London Euston via an alternative route through Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, with the normal services available from Birmingham Snow Hill into London Marylebone. A replacement coach service will also run in both directions between Rugby and Milton Keynes connecting with a train service running in both directions between Milton Keynes and London Euston and calling at Watford Junction. Further work in the Stafford, Preston and Carlisle areas will also impact on travellers looking to head up to Scotland and the North West. For further information passengers should visit the following websites – www.virgintrains.com/changeforgood, www.nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457 484950. Customer leaflets summarising the changes will be available at stations.
Contact information
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03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
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0330 854 0100
NWCmediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
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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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