Travel between Milton Keynes and London is set to be massively disrupted over the Easter period as the West Coast Main Line sees major upgrades.

Those travelling on the West Coast Main Line over the Easter period are being urged to plan ahead as essential railway upgrades are set to cause major disruptions between London Euston and Milton Keynes.

Between April 3 - 8, engineers will carry out a series of works to improve the ageing railway infrastructure. Due to the large scale of the projects, no main line services will run between Euston and Milton Keynes Central for six days, with trains starting and terminating north of the closure. Rail replacement services will operate over this period to keep passengers on the move.

The rail works include:

Trains between Milton Keynes and London are set to be massively disrupted over the Easter period as the West Coast Main Line sees major upgrades. Photo: Network Rail

placeholder image — Trains between Milton Keynes and London are set to be massively disrupted over the Easter period as the West Coast Main Line sees major upgrades. Photo: Network Rail

£8.4m of essential track work at Willesden including the renewal of switches and crossings (moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another), and installing new railway foundation stone.
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.
Over £8m will be spent on a renewal of overhead line equipment near Wembley to enhance safety and power resilience.
£2m of enabling works will be carried out in Bushey as part of a project to upgrade the power supply that keeps trains moving in and out of London.
Harrow & Wealdstone station will see a £5.8m investment in repairs to the station canopies and platform upgrades.

Passengers are advised to plan ahead, allow extra time to travel, expect any trains running to be busier and be prepared for part of their journey to be by rail replacement bus.

Gary Walsh, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “There is a large amount of work taking place over the Easter bank holiday and until 8 April to improve the reliability of the West Coast Main Line for the millions of passengers and freight operators who rely on this route.

“There will be some major changes to journeys between Euston and Milton Keynes in this six-day period so we’re urging everyone who plans to travel over Easter to check their journey in advance at National Rail Enquiries.”

Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel information and to plan journeys in advance.