The UK’s railway infrastructure owner and operator, Network Rail, has informed passengers intending to travel over the bank holiday weekend that some services on the West Coast main line will be disrupted.

From Saturday, 25 May to Monday, 27 May Network Rail engineers will be carrying out improvement works between Stafford and Milton Keynes.

This will involve replacing a total of 3.5km of track, an upgrade project which is part of a larger £24m investment to make the line more reliable for both passenger and freight services.

They follow on from an extensive set of work over the early May bank holiday weekend.

Despite the engineering work, passengers will still be able to travel between London, the Midlands, the North West and Scotland over the bank holiday.

However, customers may be required to make use of rail replacement buses in order to complete their journeys.

It is also expected that services between Scotland and London will take longer than usual.

Moreover, Avanti West Coast services between Holyhead and London Euston will run between Holyhead and Crewe only.

Network Rail also anticipates that trains on Saturday, 25 May will be unusually crowded due to the FA cup final at Wembley Stadium.

The disruption will affect trains run by three operators: Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and London Northwestern Railway.

For full details of how the changes will affect specific journeys, please check the journey planner on the National Rail website.

“We have made some great progress on major railway improvements over Easter and the early May bank holiday which will help to make journeys on the West Coast main line more reliable.

I would like to thank passengers for your continued patience while we carry out more essential track work over the long weekend and urge you to please check before you travel with National Rail Enquiries or your train operator to see how your journey could be impacted.

Gary Walsh, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director