As Easter approaches, passengers intending to travel on the West Coast Mainline are being advised to check their train services before they travel, as parts of the line are being closed for engineering works to be carried out.
From Friday 29 March to Monday 1 April London Euston will be closed to all trains, except Overground services.
This is due to £7 million of engineering works taking place between Camden, Bourne End and Colwich, which will involve replacing 1km of track in these areas, enabling faster journeys into and out of Euston.
Other work taking place over the Easter weekend will be in the Northampton area, from 30 March to 1 April, where work will be continuing on the ‘Strategic Rail Freight Interchange' link at SEGRO Logistics Park.
It is hoped trains will start using this freight link later this year. Once complete, these new facilities will employ over 7,000 people working over 5 million square feet of warehouses.
The rail connection will enable thousands of tonnes of goods to be interchanged between road and rail vehicles near junction 15 on the M1, taking up to 300 lorries off the road every day.
Changes to services
- During the four-day closure of the southern end of the WCML 29 March to 1 April, all Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway trains will start and terminate at Milton Keynes, with buses replacing trains between Milton Keynes and London Euston. Govia Thameslink trains will terminate at Kensington Olympia or Shepherd's Bush.
- Buses will replace trains between Milton Keynes and Northampton between 30 March and April 1.
Other works taking place over the Easter Holidays as part of the £13.4 million investment across the North West and Central regions include:
- Preparation work for a new 350m viaduct being built as part of HS2 in Wendover over the Chiltern Line between Great Missenden and Aylesbury, which will see changes to some services.
- Track and overhead power works in the Birmingham area will see trains arriving and departing later in the morning on Sunday 31 March.
- Track replacement in Staffordshire between Colwich Junction and Stone
- Track, drainage, and power line upgrade between Acton Bridge and Euxton Balshaw Lane, via Warrington.
- Work continuing on the Wigan to Bolton electrification program.
- Bridge strengthening between Morecambe and Carnforth.
- Upgrading the station canopies at Lancaster.
Rob McIntosh, managing director for Network Rail's North West & Central region, said: “There is never a good time to close parts of our railway, especially Euston station, and I am sorry for the disruption this will cause. However, the maintenance and improvement work we're carrying out is vital to keeping the railway running safely and improving performance. We're urging passengers to travel either side of the Easter break to avoid the worst of the disruption and to check before travelling with National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel advice”
Passengers are being advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk/easter for travel information and alternative travel plans.
