Liverpool and Manchester City football fans have been advised not to attempt to travel by rail to and from the FA Cup semi-final on Easter Saturday, 16th April, because of major railway improvements taking place.

On that weekend, because of essential upgrades taking place at multiple locations along the West Coast Main Line. Between Good Friday, 15th April and Easter Monday, 18 April, Euston station will be closed to main line train services, and multiple sections of railway will be closed while £22m of essential improvements take place.

There will be no direct trains from Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, and rail journeys will take longer. Any trains that do run will be busier than usual, and travelling fans will need to use rail replacement buses to travel from Merseyside and Manchester to Wembley.

Football fans should also avoid alternative rail routes, such as CrossCountry services or the Chiltern Main Line, because they will also be busy because of the engineering work.

Dave Penney, Network Rail passenger director for the North West and Central region, said: “We have a strong track record of working closely with partner organisations like the FA to minimise disruption for passengers as far as possible, for example by giving prior notice of engineering projects which could impact on sports or large-scale events.

“Unfortunately, this year there is a clash between our £22m Easter railway upgrades and the FA Cup semi-finals, and regrettably these works can’t be deferred at this late stage as it would waste millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money and cause further unnecessary disruption to passengers. We’re urging football fans in Liverpool and Manchester to avoid going to or from the match by train, and instead follow the FA’s travel advice on how to get to Wembley on Saturday 16 April.”

Alternative travel options for the Liverpool v Manchester City FA Cup semi-final can be viewed here.

The latest journey information can be seen at http://www.networkrail.co.uk/wcml or on Twitter at #EasterRailWorks.