Passengers planning to travel over the Easter bank Holiday weekend are being advised to plan their journeys ahead as Network Rail will be undertaking a programme of engineering work as part of an £88 million investment in railways across Britain.

The weekend will see the majority of the rail network open as usual however, some routes will be impacted by the vast programme of work which will see over 600 projects delivered in a bid to maintain and upgrade railways across the country.

Passengers are advised to check their travel plans ahead of making a journey from Friday the 7th to Monday the 10th of April inclusive via National Rail Enquiries or by visiting the train operator’s website.

Scheduled engineering work programmes are organised to take place during bank holiday weekends, as it reduces disruption for passengers as usually fewer people, make journeys on the railways during these periods.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “Our Easter engineering programme has been carefully planned so the majority of the rail network will remain open for business. However, some routes will be affected by this work, so please remember to check before you travel.

“Colleagues from Network Rail and our rail partners will be working hard to deliver £88 million worth of investment during the course of the weekend. These vital projects will upgrade the railway so that we can provide a better and more reliable service for our passengers and freight users in the future.”

Work taking place throughout the Easter bank Holiday Weekend will see over 12,000 metres of new rail and 33,000 tonnes of ballast laid alongside a large number of major projects which will support increased reliability and performance on Britain’s railways.

The major upgrade projects taking place over the Easter bank holiday weekend include:

Between London Euston and Milton Keynes:

• Track renewals, bridgework and maintenance work will take place from Friday the 7th to and including Monday the 10th of April.
• No services will operate between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central throughout the bank holiday weekend.
• Bus services will operate from Milton Keynes Central and Bedford providing a connection into Govia Thameslink Railway/East Midlands Railway services to and from London.
• London Northwestern Railway will also run bus services to serve stations south of Milton Keynes in order to connect with Govia Thameslink Railway services at Potters Bar.
• Caledonian Sleeper services will start from London King’s Cross.

The West Coast main line between Lancaster and Carlise:

• Track upgrades will take place from Saturday the 8th to Tuesday the 11th of April and will see the West Coast main line closed between Lancaster and Carlisle.
• Avanti West Coast services will terminate at Lancaster to and from the south.
• Replacement bus services will be operating between Lancaster and Carlisle.

Streatham North Junction:

• Renewal of switches and crossings which allow trains to move from one track to another will take place at Streatham North Junction in a bid to improve safety and reliability.
• Due to the renewal work, platforms 9-19 at London Victoria will not be in service throughout the bank holiday weekend.
• Services will start and end at London Bridge.
• London Victoria to Dorking services will follow a diversion and will start/terminate at London Bridge via Peckham Rye.

Charing Cross:

• Maintenance work and track renewals will take place at Charing Cross on Saturday the 8th & Sun the 9th of April.
• Trains will not run to or from via Waterloo East to Charing Cross.
• Southeastern services will start and terminate from Cannon Street or London Victoria.
• Bus replacement services will be operating between Lewisham and Dartford via Sidcup.

Kent between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings:

• Essential embankment improvements and track renewals will take place in Kent between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings from Friday the 7th  to Saturday the 15th of April.
• Between the dates above, buses will replace Southeastern train services between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings.

Carstairs:

• Vital work to improve reliability and resilience will take place at Carstairs.
• The work will mean that there is no route through Carstairs Junction to and from Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central via the West Coast main line for the entire of the bank holiday weekend.

Crewe:

• Points conversion work for HS2 will see services to and from Crewe severely impacted from Saturday the 8th to and including Monday the 10th of April.

Passengers wishing to find out how their Easter rail travel is affected can do so via their rail operator, via  National Rail Enquiries, or by following #EasterRailWorks on Twitter.