Network Rail reveals West Coast upgrade plans

Network Rail has announced its plans of the West Coast main line engineering upgrades in spring 2020.

Passengers should plan their journeys at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

The Railway Upgrade Plan work will occur on the following weekends:

• 10–13 April (Easter weekend)
• 2–3 May
• 9–10 May (after VE Day bank holiday Friday)
• 23–25 May (late May bank holiday)
• 10 weekends of work between Carstairs and the border in Scotland (Saturday 4 April – Sunday 7 June)

A large programme of work is planned, including:

• A major track overhaul on Euxton Junction
• Signalling improvements in Ditton
• The removal of a railway bridge near Stockport station
• Bridgework in the Aylesbury Vale area, alignment of railway sidings in West Ruislip areas and improvement work on platforms 12 – 16 at Euston station to help prepare the way for HS2
• Renewal of over 17km of the track at over 20 locations between Carstairs and the border.
• A bridge renewal, embankment strengthening and drainage work near Beattock, Scotland.
• Track improvements between Coseley and Wolverhampton and between Currock and Carlisle

What did the officials say?

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail's North West and Central region, said:

“There's never a perfect time to close parts of the railway to make improvements, but bank holidays and weekends are the quietest times when the fewest people use the railway. We work closely with our industry colleagues to get as much work done as possible during the closures and minimise its impact on people's journeys. Network Rail has also reorganised our Railway Upgrade Plan improvements to keep trains running for this year's very special VE Day.”

Susie Homan, director for planning, engineering and operations at the Rail Delivery Group, representing the rail industry, said:

“Although there is a never a good time for improvement work, it's essential to make journeys more punctual, maintain a safe railway and support our plans to run 11,300 more services by the mid-2020s. We are asking passengers to check before they travel to ensure they can still have a smooth journey.”

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