Passengers travelling in the North West this weekend are being advised of changes to journeys as Network Rail carry out essential railway improvements

Network Rail will be carrying the vital engineering work between Preston, Manchester, Warrington and Wigan on Saturday the 2nd and Sunday the 3rd of April. The work will see engineers replace switches and crossings which are the complex railway components that allow trains to move from one track to another.

Once complete, the essential work will provide smoother and more reliable journeys into the future for both passengers and freight on the West Coast Main Line and also for important railway routes throughout the North West.

In order to carry out the work safely, sections of the track need to be closed and due to this passengers travelling in the North West are being advised to plan their journeys ahead using: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk

Rail replacement buses will be in action for some services and journeys taking longer than usual for trains that are running this weekend expected to be busier than usual.

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West route infrastructure director, said: “These important track improvements will mean more reliable journeys for passengers and freight in the future.

“I’d urge anyone planning to travel across the North West or between Euston and Glasgow this weekend to check National Rail Enquiries to plan their journeys. I’d also like to thank passengers and local people in advance for their patience.”

Avanti West Coast, Northern and TransPennine Express will be using amended timetables over the period of railway upgrades.

Avanti West Coast:

• Saturday 2nd April: No train services will operate between Warrington Bank Quay and Preston, with only three train services operating each way in the morning between Preston and Glasgow Central / Edinburgh.
• Sunday 3rd April: No train services between Warrington Bank Quay and Glasgow Central.
• Monday 4th April: The 05:13 Lancaster to London Euston, and 04:28 Glasgow Central to London Euston, will both start from Preston at booked time.

Northern:

Buses will replace trains between:

• Preston and Blackburn,
• Blackpool North / Preston and St Helens Central

TransPennine Express:

• No services will operate between Manchester and Preston.
• A rail replacement bus service will run between Manchester Piccadilly and Preston.
• RMT strike action is planned to disrupt TPE services on Sunday the 3rd of April. TPE is asking customers to avoid travel on this date and to travel either side of the strike instead.

Gus Dunster, executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, said: “Due to planned improvement work by Network Rail there’ll be changes to our services on our Scotland route on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April. As a result, we’ll have a limited service on Saturday morning and no trains north of Warrington Bank Quay for the rest of the weekend. We strongly advise customers making journeys over this weekend to plan ahead and check the Avanti West Coast website before travelling.”

Chris Jackson, 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.”

Kathryn O’Brien, customer experience director for TransPennine Express, said:

“There will be changes for customers travelling on our services between Manchester and Preston on Saturday 2 April as a result of important track improvements, and customers should allow extra time and check before they travel.

“RMT strike action is planned to disrupt TPE services on Sunday 3 April and we are asking customers to avoid travel on this date and travel either side of the strike where possible.”

Passengers are also being advised of further major railway improvement work which will take place over the Easter bank holiday weekend, and will take place from the 15th to the 18th of April. Passengers are again being urged to travel either side of Easter in order to avoid disruption to their journeys.

To find out more please visit: https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/passengers-advised-to-travel-either-side-of-easter-bank-holiday