Network Rail has revealed that most rail routes across the North West will be open for travel as usual over the late May Bank Holiday weekend from the 27th to the 29th of May.

Bank Holidays provide Network Rail with a good opportunity to carry out essential upgrade work in order to support both passenger and freight networks across the country.

A small programme of improvements will be carried out over the bank holiday weekend due to work carried out earlier in the year, which will see some sections of the West Coast mainline between Preston and Carlisle undergo £4.3 million in upgrade work.

Work taking place over the late May bank holiday includes:

• Railway foundation stone improvements in Carlisle will get underway from Sunday the 28th to Monday the 29th of May, inclusive.
• New track will be laid between Preston and Lancaster, taking place on the evening of Saturday the 27th until lunchtime on Sunday the 28th of May.
• Ballast cleaning will take place in Warrington on the night of Saturday, the 27th through to lunchtime on Sunday, the 28th of May.

Network Rail has planned most of the work to take place through the night in order to cause as little disruption for passengers as possible. However, some journeys may see changes.

Customers planning to travel over the bank holiday weekend are advised to check http://www.nationalrail.co.uk ahead of making a journey. Advice is also given to those travelling on affected routes to leave more time than usual should they need to change trains or use rail replacement buses.

Further information is also available via train operators or on Twitter accounts:

• @NetworkRailMAN
• @NetworkRailLC

Dave Penney, passenger director of Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said: “We’ve made great progress improving the West Coast main line on previous bank holidays so far this year, which means we’re doing much less work this coming bank holiday break.”

“We are still investing £4.3m in the region’s railway though, which could see some journeys impacted overnight on Saturday into Sunday. That’s why we’re advising people to check National Rail Enquiries in advance of 27-29 May, so they know exactly what to expect from their journey.”