Passengers travelling between London Euston, the West Midlands, North West and Scotland are being advised to check before they travel ahead of multi-million pound railway upgrades over the early May bank holiday. Network Rail is investing £7.7m to improve future journeys on the West Coast main line between London and Crewe between Saturday 29 April and Monday 1 May.

The essential upgrades include:

  • Work to 25,000-volt overhead lines which power trains at Euston and Kings Langley to make them more resilient during hot weather
  • Track upgrades at Harrow and Wealdstone 
  • Overhead line upgrades as part of a year-long power supply project at Bushey 
  • Work starting to remove of the 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

London Euston will be closed on Sunday 30 April with trains terminating once again at Milton Keynes. Shuttle bus services to Bedford will connect passengers with onward trains into London St Pancras. During the work people could have to change trains, have longer journeys, services will be busier, and in some cases travellers will need to use rail replacement buses.

Passengers are being advised to plan their journeys in advance by checking www.nationalrail.co.uk.

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 29 April and Monday 2 May.

“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 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 www.nationalrail.co.uk website.