Media centre

Monday 1 Dec 2025

Railway engineers take on Britain’s biggest Christmas jigsaw puzzle

Region & Route:

North West & Central

Passengers have been urged to plan their journeys over the Christmas period as railway engineers take on a project dubbed Britain’s biggest Christmas jigsaw.

Hanslope Junction – located 56 miles north of London Euston and seven miles from Milton Keynes – is a vital section of railway. The junction carries more than 3,300 passenger and freight services a week but is set to be transformed by a £26m improvement programme. 

Beginning on Christmas Eve, Network Rail teams will be taking on Britain’s biggest Christmas jigsaw puzzle, replacing 130 track pieces across the junction. Work also includes strengthening the foundations below the track, as well as overhauling points, switches and crossings. 

In the last five years, faults on this crucial railway junction have caused more than 11,000 minutes of delays – equivalent to more than a week's worth of disruption – so this upgrade will improve reliability and reduce disruption for passengers. 

The work means that journeys to and from London Euston will be affected from Christmas Eve until the morning of 5 January. 

To make the most of the closure, while trains aren’t running between Milton Keynes and Rugby or Milton Keynes and Northampton, engineers will deliver additional improvements, including: 

• Milton Keynes Central station – Platform 4 renewal 
  A £3.66m project to replace concrete planks and fix uneven surfaces, improving safety and structural integrity. 

• Wolverton station – Platforms 3 & 4 resurfacing 
  Investing over £2m to upgrade platform surfaces and improving stepping distances between train and platform. 
• Track renewal near Roade 
  An investment of almost £600,000 to upgrade the track near Roade, including the installation of over 1,500 metres of new rail. 
• Newport Bridge, Stafford 
  Part of a £5.4m upgrade to the bridge carrying the A518 over the railway, providing a safer bridge and better road for the people of Stafford.

Gary Walsh, Network Rail’s route director for the West Coast South route, said: “These upgrades to the West Coast Main Line will make the railway more reliable and safer for many years to come. 

“We appreciate passengers’ patience while this work takes place. If you plan to travel during the Christmas period, I would urge you to plan your journeys as early as possible and check in with National Rail Enquiries for the last information on services.” 

• Huge improvements planned across the West Coast Main Line this Christmas

Travel advice 

To carry out these upgrades safely, there will be no trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton/Rugby for eleven consecutive days from the evening of 24 December until the morning of 5 January. 

Follow up work will take place on Sundays 11 and 25 January to complete essential tamping (compacting of the stones beneath the new track that give stability) and drainage work. On these days there will be no trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton/Rugby. 

Passengers are advised to: 

• Plan ahead and check before travelling. 

• Allow extra time for journeys. 

• Expect some parts of your journey to be by bus and trains to be busier than usual. 

For the latest travel information, visit https://www.nationalrail.co.uk. 

For more information on our work at Hanslope Junction, visit our website here: Christmas upgrades to future-proof West Coast Main Line near Milton Keynes.