Network Rail is reminding passengers travelling in the North West this Easter to check before they travel while major railway upgrades take place to improve future journeys.

Work on the North West route this weekend will upgrade to tracks, signalling systems and essential railway equipment as part of a £5m investment.

The upgrades include:

• multiple railway track upgrades along the West Coast main line between Lancaster and Carlisle (8- 11 April).
• points being upgraded at Weaver junction in Cheshire on Easter Sunday. This means no direct services from Crewe to Liverpool.
• improvements to signalling in Crewe (7-11 April), resulting in longer journey times.
• ongoing track upgrades so more trains can run on the Hope Valley line between Sheffield and Manchester.
• changes to West Coast main line journeys in Scotland because of ongoing work to upgrade Carstairs junction.

The improvements with the biggest impact on journeys will be the upgrades between Lancaster and Carlisle, which will close the route all day on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday (9 and 10 April).

The railway closure also means the Lakes line between Oxenholme and Windermere will be served by rail replacement buses on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.

Network Rail is advising that the best time to travel on this stretch of the West Coast main line will be before 9pm on Saturday 8 April and after the work is complete from first service on Tuesday 11 April.

Meanwhile passengers travelling south on the West Coast main line to London are advised that all trains will terminate at Milton Keynes from Good Friday to Easter Monday. This is because of the final phase of major improvements to a railway junction in Watford which will enable more trains to pass through the area.
Euston station will be completely closed over the four-day bank holiday while that work in Watford is carried out.

Passengers should plan ahead at www.nationalrail.co.uk or check with their train operator for the latest journey information. People can follow the progress of improvement work using the #EasterRailWorks hashtag on Twitter.

Track upgrades between Lancaster and Carlisle

• Buses will replace trains between Lancaster and Carlisle from Easter Sunday to the end of services on Easter Monday. Buses will also run on the Lakes line between Oxenholme and Windermere during that time.
  Signalling upgrades in Crewe.
• Passengers can still make journeys although this may involve longer journey times and in some cases an additional change of train service.

Hope Valley Line upgrades

• Transpennine Express is running services between Doncaster to Cleethorpes. Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield via Huddersfield, and Liverpool to Manchester Oxford Road (all at reduced frequency) on 8th and 9th April.
• Transpennine Express is running services between Doncaster to Cleethorpes and Liverpool to Manchester Oxford Road.
• Northern is running services between Manchester Piccadilly and Hope. Rail replacement buses will be running between Sheffield and Hope.
• East Midlands Railway is running bus services between Sheffield and Stockport.

Passengers needing to travel on the days in between will have longer journeys, any trains running will be busier with fewer available seats, and where the railway is closed people will need to use rail replacement buses.
To plan journeys and for the latest travel information the advice is to visit the National Rail website.

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.”