Media centre

Tuesday 12 Mar 2024

‘Travel either side’ advice for West Coast Main Line passengers this Easter bank holiday

Region & Route:

North West & Central

West Coast Main Line passengers are urged to travel either side of the Easter bank holiday weekend with London Euston closed to all main line services during major track upgrades.

£13.4 million is being invested across Network Rail's North West & Central region including £7m to upgrade over a kilometre of track between Camden, Bourne End and Colwich Junction which will mean more reliable journeys for passengers travelling in and out of the major London station.

Apart from London Overground services, there will be no trains in or out of Euston station between Friday 29 March and Monday 1 April 2024.

Over the Easter weekend work will also continue to build the important link to the 'Strategic Rail Freight Interchange' at SEGRO Logistics Park in Northampton. Freight services are planned to begin operating there later this year.

When complete, the huge facility will have 5 million square feet of warehouse space and employ up to 7,000 people.

The new railway connection will see thousands of tonnes of goods switch between rail and road beside Junction 15 of the M1 motorway taking up to 300 lorries off the roads every day.

To carry out these upgrades, between 29 March and 1 April:

All Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes with buses replacing trains connecting passengers with other main lines for travel into London. Govia Thameslink services will terminate at Shepherd’s Bush or Kensington Olympia stations.

Between 30 March and 1 April buses will also replace trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton.

Rob McIntosh, managing director for Network Rail's North West & Central region, said: “There is never a good time to close parts of our railway, especially Euston station, and I am sorry for the disruption this will cause. However, the maintenance and improvement work we’re carrying out is vital to keeping the railway running safely and improving performance.

“We’re urging passengers to travel either side of the Easter break to avoid the worst of the disruption and to check before travelling with National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel advice”

Other essential work which will see parts of the railway in Network Rail’s North West and Central region closed over the bank holiday weekend include:

• HS2 engineers completing preparation work for a new 350m viaduct being built over the existing railway in Wendover which will mean changes to journeys between Great Missenden and Aylesbury.
• Strengthening the track and surveying the overhead wires in the Birmingham area, meaning a later start to trains on Sunday 31 March to and from Birmingham New Street station.
• Replacing the track between Colwich Junction and Stone in Staffordshire to allow smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers and freight services between Birmingham and Manchester.
• Improving the track, drainage and overhead line equipment between Acton Bridge and Euxton Balshaw Lane, via Warrington.
• Continuing the Wigan to Bolton electrification project.
• Improving the track and strengthening bridges between Morecambe and Carnforth.
• Upgrading the station platform canopies at Lancaster station.

Passengers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk/easter for information about specific journeys.

People can follow the progress of improvement work using the #EasterRailWorks hashtag on X (formerly Twitter).