Major upgrades on track between Milton Keynes and Euston will cause train travel disruption over May bank holiday

Major work to improve future journeys for passengers and freight is taking place this weekend, between Saturday May 1 and Bank Holiday Monday, May 3.

Euston station will be closed to main line train services due to major upgrades between London Euston and Milton Keynes. This means trains will start and finish at Milton Keynes.

Trains and stations will be busier with some rail replacement buses running, says Network Rail

They are advising that the best time to travel will be on Friday 30 April and Tuesday 4 May

Millions of pounds is being invested to improve future journeys for passengers and freight on the West Coast main line and key routes in the Midlands and North West.

The early May bank holiday will also be a major milestone for the East West Rail project - as work continues to reinstate a rail route between Oxford and Bletchley for the first time in more than 50 years.

Huge steel beams will be lifted across all four lines of the West Coast main line as a flyover is rebuilt. It involves the dismantling of the 25,000 volt overhead line system which powers electric trains.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “There is never an ideal time to shut the railway and we have worked hard to minimise disruption across the spring and summer – including moving work over the Easter and Spring bank holidays.

“It is fantastic to see more passengers return to the railway and we want to make journeys as easy as possible for those travelling over bank holidays. We are carefully balancing that with the need to carry out essential railway improvements and maintenance to provide a safe and reliable railway for the future.

“The scale of work planned between May 1-3 will mean changes for passengers, but we’re working with train companies to minimise disruption to passengers as much as possible.”

Where possible Network Rail has moved planned work to minimise disruption for passengers needing to travel and to take advantage of lockdown quiet time:

It re-scheduled upgrades at Bletchley over Easter, affecting London to Birmingham journeys. This meant the work finished earlier, allowing more trains to run.

Essential work in North London and Northamptonshire was brought forward to be completed before Easter, meaning Euston could stay open on the Easter and Spring bank holidays.

Reviews into other planned summer upgrade works are underway to reduce the impact on passengers as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile passengers are urged to follow the latest government advice around the use of public transport, which is to minimise travel.

For more information visit www.nationalrail.co.uk.