Plan Ahead: £83m to be invested in 530 railway projects this Easter

Network Rail is advising passengers to check ahead of travelling over the Easter period as it plans to invest £83m over 530 upgrade projects for the network.

With more than 95% of the network remaining unaffected by the engineering works being carried out over the Easter period, some routes will see disruption to services, and therefore passengers are being urged to plan travel ahead.

The railway is essential in Britain’s recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic and passengers are the key in the boost to recovery as people get back to work and leisure travel.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “The majority of the railway will be open as usual this Easter for people to take a short break or visit loved ones, but some routes will be affected by our upgrade works, so we’re asking passengers to plan ahead and check their journeys in advance.

“We’ll be carrying out hundreds of vital projects that will improve passengers’ journeys in future – for example by improving reliability and boosting capacity on the network.”

Avanti West Coast train passing Willesden track upgrade worksite March 2021 (2) — Credit: Network Rail

The major upgrade works being carried out over the Easter bank holiday weekend are as follows:

Resignalling and point work at Clapham Junction which will improve safety. This work will mean that no Southern trains will operate to or from London Victoria between Friday the 15th and Monday the 18th of April. A reduced South Western Railway (SWR) service will run to and from Vauxhall.
Track and point renewals, as well as HS2 work, will be carried out at London Euston and Watford North Junction and will bring improved capacity whilst providing a safer railway for passengers. These works will mean that no trains will operate between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central throughout the Easter weekend.
Bridge renewal works will be carried out at Coventry South Junction alongside HS2 work at Hampton-in-Arden. These works will mean services between Coventry and Birmingham will be diverted via Solihull, with a rail replacement service put in place between Rugby and Birmingham International, and also between Leamington Spa and Nuneaton/Coventry.
Point renewals will be carried out at Bishops Stortford alongside station upgrade works at Hertford East which will improve performance and station capacity. Rail replacement bus services will operate between Waltham Cross and Stansted Airport, and also between Waltham Cross and Hertford East.
Station enhancement works will be carried out at Gatwick Airport to improve capacity. This work will mean that some trains will not stop at Gatwick, with one train per hour running between Redhill and Gatwick Airport.
Track upgrade work will be carried out in the Llanhilleth area to improve passenger journeys and also boost capacity, the work is part of the multi-million-pound upgrade of the Ebbw Vale Line. This work will mean that rail replacement services will be in operation between Cardiff Central and Ebbw Vale Town.

Passengers can find out further information about how their Easter travel will be affected via their train operator, with National Rail Enquiries, or by following #EasterRailWorks on Twitter.