There will be a number of disruptions to train services throughout the North West during the week leading up to Easter and over the Easter weekend due to major upgrades to improve future journeys.
The disruption to services will be caused by Network Rail carrying out £5m of improvements, including upgrades to tracks, signalling systems, and essential railway equipment.
Between Saturday, 8th and Tuesday, 11th April along the West Coast main line between Lancaster and Carlisle, multiple upgrades will take place to the railway tracks, which will also close the route all day on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, 9th and 10th April, and necessitate the use of rail-replacement buses between Lancaster and Carlisle and Oxenholme and Windermere on both days.
On Easter Sunday, 9th April, at Weaver Junction in Cheshire where switches and crossings being upgraded, resulting in no direct services between Crewe and Liverpool.
Between Friday, 7th and Tuesday, 11th April, signalling improvements will be carried out at Crewe. Although passengers can still travel, longer journey times may take and in some cases require a change of train en route.
In Scotland, ongoing work to upgrade Carstairs Junction will affect West Coast main line journeys.
On the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester, track upgrades will continue so that the line can accommodate more trains in future. While that work continues the following service changes will apply:
- On Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, 8th and 9th April Transpennine Express will run services between Doncaster and Cleethorpes, and Liverpool and Manchester Oxford Road, but with fewer trains than usual.
- Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via Huddersfield, Northern will operate services between Manchester Piccadilly and Hope, but rail-replacement buses will be running between Sheffield and Hope.
- East Midlands Railway will run rail-replacement buses between Sheffield and Stockport.
On the southern part of the West Coast Main Line to London, Euston station will be closed and all trains will terminate at Milton Keynes from Good Friday to Easter Monday so that the final phase of major improvements to a railway junction in Watford can be completed to enable more trains to pass through the area in future.
Click here to find out more about why Euston station will close this Easter.
Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “Once again we’re carrying out major railway improvements across the North West to ensure the railway is safe and reliable for passengers and freight in the future.
“We know there’s never an ideal time to close the railway, but the four-day Easter bank holiday remains the least disruptive time for carrying out complex upgrades to tracks – especially on major sections of the West Coast main line.
“I’d advise people to please plan ahead and check National Rail Enquiries so you know exactly what to expect – and that’s longer journeys with rail replacement buses from Good Friday to Easter Monday on some routes.”
Anyone intending to travel during the Easter period should plan ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk or check with their train operator for the latest journey information.
The progress of improvement work can be found on Twitter using the #EasterRailWorks hashtag.
Responses
Network Rail are sticking to their assertion that holiday weekend shutdowns are the least disruptive to people’s travel plans – but is this really true now? Certainly before the Covid lockdowns, business travellers made up the majorioty of train users and they travelled during the working week. But with much more working from home now, it’s becoming clear that leisure travel over weekends and holidays is now the more dominant pattern of railway use. So is it really a good idea to virtually shut down large areas of the rail network over the Easter weekend when a lot of leisure travellers will be wanting to use the railway?