Major improvements to the railway will be taking place on the West Coast Main Line between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central over the coming weeks.

The work will improve journeys on the WCML, which is Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway line.

Between Saturday 2 and Saturday 16 May, the railway will be closed between Milton Keynes and Rugby so up to 150 essential jobs can be carried out.

They include track being replaced and major drainage improvements in Kilsby tunnel near Daventry.

When complete, a temporary speed restriction, or TSR, will be lifted to end delays in recent years.

What did the officials say?

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast Mainline South route director, said:

“The West Coast main line is the backbone of Britain and keeping it maintained and running safely is a top priority. With fewer trains running because of the country’s continued effort to stop the spread of coronavirus, we have been able to prioritise and bring forward this critical work on this economically important section of railway.

“This can only be done by our dedicated railway engineers, signallers, maintenance, control room and operations staff bravely working to keep people who do need to travel by rail, and critical freight goods, moving throughout the crisis. In carrying out this work they are making sure the railway is at its best when Britain emerges from this coronavirus pandemic.”

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