Rail chiefs warn of May Bank Holiday disruption

Commuters have been warned to plan their May Bank Holiday travel due to work taking place on the line between Euston and Carlisle, affecting the West Midlands and North West.

Work will take place to electrify the line between Preston and Manchester which will affect all services to and from Manchester via Bolton on Saturday, May 5, and Sunday May 6.

There will also be work continuing on the Halton Chord and Weaver-Wavertree resignalling projects in Merseyside throughout the weekend, as well as on Tuesday May 8.

This means some services in and out of Liverpool Lime Street will also be affected on the first working day after the bank holiday, with a normal timetable in place from start of service on Wednesday, May 9.

Work will also take place to maintain the signalling system and overhead lines on the West Coast main line between Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard. This means some services will be affected from Saturday, May 4, to Monday, May 6.

There will also be overhead line work and maintenance at Kilsby Tunnel, between Rugby and Milton Keynes which will mean some services will be affected until midday on Sunday, May 6.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail route managing director for the London North Western route, said: “These upgrades are a vital step towards us being able to provide better, smoother and more reliable journeys for the millions of passengers who travel on the railway from London to Carlisle via the Midlands and the North West of England.

“We try our best to minimise the impact on passengers and do most of the work behind the scenes.

“However, there are big pieces of work that can only be completed when the railway is clear of trains.

“We would like to thank passengers in advance for bearing with us as it will mean some changes to their travel plans.”

Looking ahead to the Spring bank holiday, there will be significant work taking place in the West Midlands between Birmingham New Street and Coventry as a new, more reliable signalling system is brought in to use.

Buses will replace trains between Birmingham and Coventry between Saturday, May 26, and Monday, May 28, and between Coventry and Birmingham.

On Saturday May 26, no trains will run between Birmingham and Lichfield and Wolverhampton to Walsall services will start from Birmingham New Street.

A replacement bus service will be in place for passengers travelling from Milton Keynes to Northampton on the morning of Sunday, May 27, while track maintenance and signalling work takes place in the area.

In the North West, track renewal in the Penrith area on Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, will mean bus replacement services for some journeys on the West Coast main line

Work will also continue on the Halton Curve and Weaver-Wavertree upgrades from 12.15pm on Saturday, May 27, until 11.55am on Monday, May 28, which will affect some services in and out of Liverpool Lime Street.

There will be further work on the railway between Preston and Manchester as work continues to electrify the railway.

This will affect all services to and from Manchester via Bolton from Saturday, May 26, to Monday, May 28.

Over both bank holidays, there will be enabling work at Euston taking place in preparation for High Speed 2.

Passengers can get the latest travel information and plan their journeys at www.nationalrail.co.uk or via their train operator.