Easter Rail Travel Advice. Plan before you go!

It’s fast coming up to the Easter Weekend. And as usual, there are some major works occurring across the UK National Rail Network.

Whilst the majority of the UK rail network will be open for passengers travelling over the Easter bank holiday weekend, there are some major works going on on main lines over the break.

West Coast Main Line

Once again, there is substantial work occurring on parts of the West Coast Main Line (operating out of London Euston). They include

£8.4m of new track to be laid at Willesden, including the renewal of switches and crossings (moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another) and £8m on new overhead power equipment around Wembley;
A bridge in Ledburn, just south of Leighton Buzzard, will see a £6.6m investment in waterproofing the bridge to prevent future damage to the structure. Engineers will also complete over £7m of signalling upgrades nearby, which will help to reduce failures and improve the reliability of journeys.
Harrow & Wealdstone station will see a £5.8m investment in repairs to the station canopies and platform upgrades.

As a result of the investment work, there will be no trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes from Good Friday (3rd April) to Wednesday 8h April, with trains returning on Thursday 9 April.

To go through the works on the West Coast Main Line:

London Euston and Milton Keynes: As above, from Friday 3 to Wednesday 8 April, no intercity trains will run between London Euston and Milton Keynes. Services will start and end at Milton Keynes with buses to Bedford for onward trains to London St Pancras International (Bakerloo Line and Overground trains will run between Euston and Harrow/Watford every day except Saturday and Sunday).
Preston to Carlisle: On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 April, installation of new signals and power supply equipment means there will be no trains between Preston and Lancaster. Avanti West Coast will operate a special Preston to Carlisle train service via the Settle & Carlisle line, while TransPennine Express and Northern services will terminate at Preston, Oxenholme or Grange-over-Sands.
Carlisle to Glasgow Central/Edinburgh, Scotland: New track and points being installed on the West Coast Main Line in south Glasgow means that Anglo Scottish passengers will be diverted via Dumfries and Kilmarnock over all four days of the Bank Holiday and buses will replace trains on the Carstairs route between Glasgow and Edinburgh between Saturday and Monday inclusive.

The work impacts services by Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Transpennine Express and the Calidonian Sleeper

South West England

Under the clock at Waterloo.

London Waterloo to Clapham Junction and around Winchester

There is major work occurring outside London Waterloo, with new switches and crossings (moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another) and structural repairs being carried out.

This will mean reduced services between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.

Meanwhile, track improvements in Hampshire will mean buses replace trains between Winchester and Southampton over all four days of the bank holiday.

South East England

Margate

The installation of new tracks through Margate station will mean buses replace trains between Herne Bay and Ramsgate via Broadstairs over all four days of the Bank Holiday. This impacts Southeastern trains

London Fenchurch Street

Between 3rd and 6th April, due to engineering work closing the lines between London Fenchurch Street and Barking, c2c services will be diverted to and from London Liverpool Street via Stratford (London). The diverted trains will be unable to call at West Ham or Limehouse.

East Anglia

Due to engineering work closing the lines north of Cambridge, buses will replace trains between Cambridge and Ely, and between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds. This impacts Greater Anglia and Crosscountry services.

London Airports

Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Express – Reduced Service Easter Sunday (5th April).
Elizabeth Line – No Service on 5th April before 07:40, with Abbey Wood – Heathrow T4 operating two trains per hour, Shenfield – Heathrow T5 will have four trains per hour. On the 6th April, late-night changes (from 22:00) are running.
The Piccadilly Line is operating a normal service

Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Express – Reduced Gatwick Express Service on Easter Monday (6th April)
Thameslink/Southern – Normal Service

Stansted Airport

Stansted Express trains will run as usual all day between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport. Crosscountry and Greater Anglia services will operate, but require changing at Cambridge due to engineering work

Luton Airport

East Midlands Railway – Due to passengers being diverted from the West Coast Main Line, expect trains to be busier than usual
Thamselink – Normal Service

And beyond

As always, it’s best to check with National Rail Enquiries and your train operator (with specific guidance for Easter at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/easter-bank-holiday/), as there may be specific and localised work in progress, requiring you to complete your journey a different way.

In Quotes

Jake Kelly, Network Rail regional director for North West and Central, said:

“We know how important Bank Holidays are – particularly at Easter, when families and friends come together – and that’s why we work hard to keep as much of the network open as possible while carrying out these vital upgrades.

“However, Bank Holidays are also among the least busy times on the railway, and the four-day period at Easter gives us a valuable opportunity to complete projects that simply can’t be delivered during a normal weekend. This ensures we maximise the time our teams are out working on the tracks.

“So passengers will see some changes and it’s a good idea for people to check before they travel.”

Plan before you go

Whilst the majority of the network is open this Easter (which is nice to see), a four-day weekend represents an opportunity for large maintenance work to be carried out, even if it means some passengers are going to have to switch to a bus, or go via a different route.

For now, plan ahead at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/easter-bank-holiday/.

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