Rail passengers warned of May bank holiday disruption on the West Coast main line

Network Rail is warning travellers that there will be engineering work on the West Coast main line through the region, hitting services between London and Scotland.

This weekend, between Saturday, May 1 and Monday, May 3, Euston station will be closed to main line train services due to major upgrades between London Euston and Milton Keynes. This means trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes.

Meanwhile, track upgrades are taking place and locations between Preston and Penrith, while signalling upgrades continue in Trafford, Manchester.

Network Rail is advising that the best time to travel will be on Friday, April 30 and Tuesday, May 4.

Passengers needing to travel on the days in between could have longer journeys, fewer available seats, and may need to use rail replacement buses.

To plan journeys and for the latest travel information visit: www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast.

The early May bank holiday will also be a major milestone for the East West Rail project - as work continues to reinstate a rail route between Oxford and Bletchley for the first time in more than 50 years.

Huge steel beams will be lifted across all four lines of the West Coast main line as a flyover is rebuilt. It involves the dismantling of the 25,000 volt overhead line system which powers electric trains.

“It is fantastic to see more passengers return to the railway and we want to make journeys as easy as possible for those travelling over bank holidays. We are carefully balancing that with the need to carry out essential railway improvements and maintenance to provide a safe and reliable railway for the future.

“The scale of work planned between May 1-3 will mean changes for passengers, but we’re working with train companies to minimise disruption to passengers as much as possible.”

Where possible Network Rail has moved planned work to minimise disruption for passengers needing to travel and to take advantage of lockdown quiet time.

Essential work in North London and Northamptonshire was brought forward to be completed before Easter, meaning Euston could stay open on the Easter and Spring bank holidays, but bosses say it was not possible to move the early May bank holiday work.

Meanwhile passengers are urged to follow the latest government advice around the use of public transport, which is to minimise travel.

For more information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk.

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