Media centre

Monday 2 Mar 2020

Passengers urged to check before they travel this Easter as Network Rail invests over £100m to upgrade network

Region & Route:

National

• £113m to be invested to improve Britain’s rail network this Easter
• Vast majority of rail network open for ‘business as usual’, but passengers on affected routes should check before they travel
• Upgrade work will deliver better and more reliable rail services for passengers

Network Rail is urging passengers to plan their journeys in advance this Easter (Friday 10 to Monday 13 April inclusive) as it delivers £113m worth of investment across Britain.

Thousands of rail workers will carry out 420 projects over the Easter period to improve the reliability of Britain’s rail infrastructure and deliver better services for passengers. Network Rail has worked with train operators to plan the upgrade work to minimise disruption.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “We know that train performance has to improve if we are to provide the railway passengers and freight users deserve, which is why this Easter thousands of our colleagues will be working around the clock to deliver crucial upgrades.

“While fewer people travel over bank holidays, some of our passengers will have important travel plans – to go on holiday, or visit friends and family. We are asking those passengers to check in advance whether their journey might be impacted by our upgrade works.”

The major investment projects this Easter include:

• HS2 enabling works and track renewal work will see a reduced timetable in operation on the West Coast main line between Euston and Watford Junction, Tring, Milton Keynes and Northampton. This work will improve track quality and reliability
• The West Coast main line will also be closed north of Crewe due to drainage works between Crewe and Warrington, track renewals at Golborne and switches and crossings renewals at Euxton Junction, improving service reliability. Trains between London Euston and Glasgow Central/Edinburgh via Birmingham New Street or Nuneaton will depart/terminate at Crewe
• On Easter Sunday only there will be amended services out of London Paddington due to signalling commissioning works between Paddington and Slough, which will improve performance, safety and capacity for passengers
• Overhead line equipment commissioning between Bedford and Market Harborough (Saturday) and Luton to Market Harborough (Sunday), which will see bus replacements in operation. East Midlands Railway services will also see bus replacements in place between Corby and Kettering over the Easter weekend. This work will lead to increased frequency of services in future
• No trains will run to and from London Fenchurch Street, owing to renewals of track and overhead line equipment between Fenchurch Street and Barking. Trains will be diverted to the nearby Liverpool Street
• From Friday 10 April to Monday 13 April we will switch on a new signalling system in the Hither Green area to improve reliability and reduce delays to passengers. The work means bus replacements will run between Lewisham and Orpington, and Lewisham and Sidcup. On Sunday 12 April, bus replacements will also run between Lewisham and Dartford. Tickets will be accepted on reasonable alternative routes, TfL buses and London Underground services.

A breakdown of how journeys will be affected can be found by visiting nationalrail.co.uk/Easter and following #EasterRailWorks.

Passengers are advised to check their journeys in advance, either with their train operator directly or via National Rail Enquiries.