Major rail upgrade work on the West Coast Main Line will take place over the Early May Bank Holiday this weekend.
Engineers will carry out the vital maintenance work to railway equipment in Lancashire, Wolverhampton, Daventry and Bletchley.
All of this work is part of Britain's Railway Upgrade Plan.
The work taking place includes:
- A junction at Euxton, near Chorley, will be overhauled.
- Switches and crossings will be renewed at Wolverhampton.
- A railway flyover, from the 1960s, will be removed at Bletchley.
Work will take place on:
- Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May 2020
- Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May 2020
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.”
Where Next?
RailAdvent Plus
Get image downloads, Prints and Streaming Video
News Homepage
For the Latest Railway News
RailAdvent Online Shop
Framed Prints, DVD's / Blu-Ray's and more
LocoStop Community
Come and share your railway pictures
Mainline Steam Info
Upcoming mainline steam tours/loco movements
Network Rail
Visit their website
The Bletchley flyover has been a eye saw since it was first installed in the 1960s. But then the so called “Varsity Line“ was to close permanently and only parts of it still remains. Including the Marston Vale Line which the London Northwestern Railway Vivarail Class 230 DEMU (former London Underground D78 stocks) are being used between Bletchley and Bedford.
And the new railway line that has reopened in 2015 from Bicester Village and Oxford that Chiltern Railways operates a direct service from London Marylebone to Oxford via Bicester Village.
The flyover that was first installed in the 1960s at Bletchley has been a icon on the West Coast Main Line. Now been removed.
A new flyover which will be the replacement will be built when approval for East West Rail link gets the go ahead that will reconnect the former Varsity Line that once connected from Oxford and The Chilterns to Cambridge and East Anglia.