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Thursday 16 May 2024

West Coast main line passengers advised to check before you travel ahead of Spring bank holiday weekend

Region & Route:

North West & Central

Over £24m is being invested over the late May bank holiday weekend to improve journeys on the West Coast main line between London Euston and Scotland.

Network Rail engineers will complete important railway upgrades between Saturday 25 and Monday 27 May which will help to enable smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers and freight services.

Although most of the work has been planned to keep passengers travelling between the North West, Midlands and London Euston moving, there will be changes to some journeys with major upgrades happening in Stafford, Milton Keynes, Crewe and Carlisle.

Between Saturday 25 to Monday 27 May engineers will complete work to:

• Continue major drainage and track improvements near Crewe station. 
• Complete major track and drainage improvements in Shap, Cumbria where a specialised 'drain train' will refurbish over 2.5km of drainage to reduce flooding incidents on the West Coast main line.
• Replace over 3.5km of track on the West Coast main line in Stafford and Milton Keynes. This will improve the resilience of our track and reduce the need for speed restrictions, allowing services to run at line speed. 

On Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May, HS2 engineers will be continuing work to prepare for a new 350m viaduct being built over the existing railway in Wendover which will mean changes to journeys between Great Missenden and Aylesbury.

Network Rail is advising passengers to check their journeys in advance as people needing to travel between Saturday 25 May and Monday 27 May could have longer journeys, fewer available seats, and may need to use rail replacement buses.

James Dean, passenger director for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience this month as we continue to invest in improving journeys for passengers and freight services on the West Coast main line between London and Scotland over the late May bank holiday. Train services will be busier than usual over the bank holiday weekend, especially on Saturday 25 May with the FA Cup final taking place in Wembley.

“If you’re planning to catch a train over the long weekend, please check before you travel with National Rail Enquiries or your train operator to see how your journey could be impacted.”

Passengers should plan ahead by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk or checking their train operator’s website.