Rail passengers travelling in the North West this Easter are being reminded to check before they travel while major railway upgrades take place
Among the work taking place are
- Multiple railway track upgrades along the West Coast main line between Lancaster and Carlisle (8- 11 April).
- Switches and crossings – moving parts of the track which allow trains to change lines and cross paths – being upgraded at Weaver junction in Cheshire on Easter Sunday. This means no direct services from Crewe to Liverpool.
- Improvements to signalling – traffic lights for trains – in Crewe (7-11 April), resulting in longer journey times.
- Ongoing work track upgrades 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.
Passengers travelling on the Hope Valley line will see 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.
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.
It’s for the final phase of major improvements to a railway junction in Watford which will enable more trains to pass through the area in future.
Euston station will be completely closed over the four-day bank holiday while that work in Watford is carried out.
