Network Rail invests over £100m to upgrade network

Network Rail is urging passengers to plan their journeys in advance this Easter (Friday 10 to Monday 13 April inclusive) as it delivers £113m worth of investment across Britain.

Thousands of rail workers will carry out 420 projects over the Easter period to improve the reliability of Britain’s rail infrastructure and deliver better services for passengers. Network Rail has worked with train operators to plan the upgrade work to minimise disruption.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “We know that train performance has to improve if we are to provide the railway passengers and freight users deserve, which is why this Easter thousands of our colleagues will be working around the clock to deliver crucial upgrades.

“While fewer people travel over bank holidays, some of our passengers will have important travel plans – to go on holiday, or visit friends and family. We are asking those passengers to check in advance whether their journey might be impacted by our upgrade works.”

The major investment projects this Easter include:

• HS2 enabling works and track renewal work will see a reduced timetable in operation on the West Coast main line between Euston and Watford Junction, Tring, Milton Keynes and Northampton. This work will improve track quality and reliability
• The West Coast main line will also be closed north of Crewe due to drainage works between Crewe and Warrington, track renewals at Golborne and switches and crossings renewals at Euxton Junction, improving service reliability. Trains between London Euston and Glasgow Central/Edinburgh via Birmingham New Street or Nuneaton will depart/terminate at Crewe
• On Easter Sunday only there will be amended services out of London Paddington due to signalling commissioning works between Paddington and Slough, which will improve performance, safety and capacity for passengers
• Overhead line equipment commissioning between Bedford and Market Harborough (Saturday) and Luton to Market Harborough (Sunday), which will see bus replacements in operation. East Midlands Railway services will also see bus replacements in place between Corby and Kettering over the Easter weekend. This work will lead to increased frequency of services in future
• No trains will run to and from London Fenchurch Street, owing to renewals of track and overhead line equipment between Fenchurch Street and Barking. Trains will be diverted to the nearby Liverpool Street

A breakdown of how journeys will be affected can be found by visiting nationalrail.co.uk/Easter and following #EasterRailWorks.

Passengers are advised to check their journeys in advance, either with their train operator directly or via National Rail Enquiries.

Photo credit: Network Rail

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