Media centre

Thursday 30 Apr 2020

West Coast main line improvement work taking place over May weekends

Region & Route:

North West & Central

• Major railway upgrades to take place over weekends in May at Bletchley, Wembley, Wolverhampton and Chorley to improve future journeys
• People who do need to use the railway should check before they travel
• Passengers should continue to follow Government advice around use of public transport

Passengers who need to use the railway to travel on routes out of Euston to the Midlands, North West and Scotland are reminded to check their journeys before travelling, with major railway upgrades planned to take place over weekends in May, including the Early and Late May bank holidays.

Network Rail is carrying essential upgrades to improve future journeys on the West Coast main line for passengers and freight on:

• Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May
• VE Day bank holiday weekend - Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May (Early Bank Holiday)
• Spring bank holiday weekend - Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May (Late Bank Holiday)

The work includes a major junction being replaced at Euxton near Chorley, track improvements in Wembley, Wolverhampton and Warrington and the partial removal of a 1960s railway flyover at Bletchley.

The essential upgrades have been carefully planned to ensure vital freight can keep moving around the country and people who cannot work from home can still get to their jobs.

Passengers are reminded to continue following Government advice regarding public transport.

Those who do need to travel over the affected weekends in May are being advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk ahead of the engineering work.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “The schemes we are carrying out over the weekends in May are all must-do work. We have planned it so as to minimise disruption to freight and those who do need to travel. It will help to ensure the railway is at its best when Britain emerges from this coronavirus pandemic.

“Our mission-critical frontline colleagues, including railway upgrade engineers, signallers, maintenance, control room and operations staff, are Britain’s hidden heroes, helping to keep Britain connected in this time of need. And I’m proud of them.”

Passengers should continue following Government guidelines around the use of public transport, and only travel if they have to.

People making such journeys should visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest information. ​