Network Rail is advising passengers travelling between London Euston, the West Midlands, North West and Scotland to check before they travel ahead of multi-million-pound railway upgrades over the early May bank holiday.
The upgrades will include track upgrades at Harrow and Wealdstone, along with several other essential upgrades aimed at improving future journeys on the West Coast main line between London and Crewe.
The £7.7m investment will involve work on 25,000-volt overhead lines which power trains at Euston and Kings Langley to make them more resilient during hot weather, overhead line upgrades as part of a year-long power supply project at Bushey, the removal of old arrival and departure boards at Euston station, upgrades to track foundation stone at Willesden North and Watford South Junction, track renewal at Sunnyside between Berkhamstead and Tring, and at Chadwell Farm.
On Sunday 30th April, London Euston will be closed, and trains will terminate at Milton Keynes, with shuttle bus services to Bedford connecting passengers with onward trains into London St Pancras. During the upgrade work, passengers may have to change trains, have longer journeys, and services will be busier, with some travellers needing to use rail replacement buses.
James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “We made great progress on major railway improvements over Easter, and I’d like to thank passengers for their continued patience while we carry out more must-do work between Saturday 29th April and Monday 2nd May.
“With essential upgrades planned at key points along the West Coast main line, we know there is never an ideal time to shut the railway, but bank holidays continue to be the least disruptive time for us to carry out this essential maintenance. With Euston closed, our advice is once again to plan ahead by checking National Rail Enquiries to see how your journey could be impacted.”
Nationally, Network Rail is investing £73m and carrying out a total of 610 railway upgrade projects over the early May bank holiday weekend. Passengers are advised to plan ahead through their train operator or by visiting the National Rail website.
