The early and late May bank holidays will see most of Britain’s passenger and freight services running as normal, with a few exceptions.

During the early May bank holiday from Saturday, 2nd to Monday, 4th May, services will be disrupted on the East Coast Main Line, in South East London, and on the Transpennine Route. Over the late May bank holiday from 23rd to 25th May, services will again be disrupted on the Transpennine Route, but in addition, services between London and South Wales via the Severn Tunnel will also be disrupted.

East Coast Main Line (early and late May bank holidays):

• Rail replacement bus services will replace trains between York and Darlington.
• A limited train service will run between Northallerton and Darlington.

South East London (early May bank holiday only):

• Charing Cross will be closed.
• Cannon Street will be closed on Sunday. 3rd May only.
• Trains will be diverted to London Victoria and Blackfriars.

Transpennine Route (early and late May bank holidays):

• Because of the Transpennine Route Upgrade, a major programme of improvements between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds will run from Saturday, 2nd May though most of May and June.
• Details on the effect on services can be found here https://thetrupgrade.co.uk/yourstation/upcomingclosures/.
• Liverpool Lime Street will be closed on Sunday, 3rd and Monday, 4th May only.

Great Western Main Line (Saturday, 23rd May until Sunday, 7th June). Because of the Severn Tnnel being closed, the usual alternative arrangements will apply:

• Buses replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway.
• There will be one through train an hour between South Wales and London via Gloucester.

Thameslink (late May bank holiday only):

• Thameslink trains from the north of London will start and end their journeys at King’s Cross & St Pancras.
• Services from the south will start and end their journeys at London Bridge.

“There is no ‘right way’ to do major work on our railway, but bank holidays are still among the least busy times for us in terms of passenger numbers and freight services. Those extra days with fewer travellers give us an opportunity to do longer projects that we couldn’t do in a normal two-day weekend or overnight.”

“So while most of our railway is open as usual over the bank holidays this May, there are some exceptions, and we also have two major projects getting underway in Yorkshire and between Newport and Bristol that passengers should be aware of. I’d advise everyone to plan ahead and check before they travel.”

Anit Chandarana, Network Rail’s group director for System Operator