Network Rail is set to undertake essential track upgrades for Hull Paragon station through the Easter bank holiday.
The upgrade work will take place on Saturday the 16th, Sunday the 17th and Monday the 18th of April and will see Network Rail engineers working across platforms 2, 3, 4 and 5 to remove and replace over 500 yards of rail, sleepers and supporting stones.
The work comes as part of a £1.3m project and will provide passengers with smoother and more reliable journeys requiring less disruptive maintenance work moving into the future.
During the period of work, trains will be using an amended timetable and will also see buses replacing trains between Hull and Doncaster, Selby, Goole, Beverley and Brough.
Passengers are being advised to check their travel plans ahead of making their journeys via National Rail Enquiries or by following #EasterRailWorks on Twitter.
Matt Rice, North & East Route Director for Network Rail said “Upgrading the tracks in Hull station will help us to deliver a more reliable railway, which will help passengers get to where they need to be, on time.
“There's never a good time to close important rail routes, but we do need to invest in our equipment to keep the railway running smoothly. We've worked with our train operating partners to make sure that passengers can keep moving throughout the Easter bank holiday.”
Hull Paragon is a TransPennine Express managed station and the station manager also wants to make customers aware of planned strike action set to take place by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Saturday the 16th and Sunday the 17th of April and is advising customers not to travel on the network on these days. Passengers wanting to travel during this time are being asked to make their journey on either side of the strike dates.
Kathryn O'Brien, Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said: “This important upgrade at Hull Paragon along with RMT strike action planned to take place over the Easter weekend will mean changes for those using our services.
“We are strongly advising customers not to travel on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April and instead, travel either side of these days.
“For anyone making an essential journey between Selby and Hull, or for those travelling on Monday 18 April, a rail replacement bus service will be in operation and people should check before and allow extra time to travel as journeys will take longer than usual.”
Tony Baxter, Regional Director for Northern said: “Improvements to infrastructure are always welcome. Whilst they might cause short term disruption, the long term benefits of modernisation in terms of reliability of service and customer experience are clear. Passengers should check before they travel to avoid inconvenience wherever possible.”
Network Rail will be carrying out 530 upgrade projects with a value of £83m throughout the country over the Easter bank holiday weekend. More than 95% of the rail network will be open for business as usual but there will be disruption for some areas with passengers once again being advised to plan their travel ahead.
