Passengers urged to travel either side of August bank holiday as rail upgrades take place between Birmingham and London: Network Rail Worker On Track

Tuesday 21 Jul 2020

Passengers urged to travel either side of August bank holiday as rail upgrades take place between Birmingham and London

Region & Route:
North West & Central
| North West & Central: Central
  • Multiple railway upgrades are taking place through the ‘Coventry corridor’ between 29-31 August and on Sunday 6 September
  • This means no direct trains between the West Midlands and London Euston
  • Passengers advised to plan ahead and travel before and after the bank holiday weekend
  • Continue following Government advice on the use of public transport – wear a face covering, maintain a distance from others and avoid peak times where possible

Major railway upgrades are taking place between the West Midlands and London this August bank holiday to make journeys more reliable for passengers and freight customers in future.

The multi-million-pound investment, part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan, will see Network Rail replace track, upgrade signalling and maintain bridges and other structures on the section of line known as the ‘Coventry corridor’.

To maximise the amount of work which can be done between Saturday 29 and Monday 31 August 2020, the railway will be entirely closed to trains between Rugby and Coventry.

With no direct services running between Birmingham and London during this time, passengers are being advised to travel before and after the railway closure, on or before Friday 28 August and on or after Tuesday 1 September.

The railway will be closed again on Sunday 6 September with the same travel advice for passengers.

For those who do choose to travel during the improvement work, a reduced timetable will be in place and replacement bus services will be in operation.

Passengers are being warned to expect changes to their usual journey and should check www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast to see how their trip will be impacted.

They should continue to follow Government guidance on public transport – wear a face covering unless they are exempt and maintain a distance from other passengers where possible.

Dave Penney, director for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “We know there is never a good time to close the railway, but when we do, we do as much work as possible to minimise disruption to passengers. This August bank holiday is no exception, particularly in the Coventry area, where multiple jobs will take place to help improve freight and passenger journeys.

“I’d urge people to plan ahead and try to travel before and after the bank holiday weekend. Anyone who plans to travel through Coventry should be prepared for their journey to be different to how it is normally so please check National Rail Enquiries for the latest information.”

Those who do travel should wear a face covering during their journey unless they are exempt – for example young children, people will visible or hidden disabilities, and those with breathing difficulties.

Social distancing measures will see queuing systems in place when boarding services in some stations. There will also be less space on trains and replacement buses.

Please check www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information.

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.

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