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Passengers advised to check before they travel this Christmas

Press release -

Passengers advised to check before they travel this Christmas

London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway are advising passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel this Christmas.

Amended timetables will be in place from Monday 24 December until Tuesday 1 January, with a reduced service on some routes. Network Rail will also be carrying out planned improvement works at London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street during this time.

The train operators are advising customers to plan ahead and allow plenty of time for their journeys, as services are likely to be busier than usual.

Passengers are also reminded to stand back and keep personal items away from train doors as they are closing. The Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) is running their 'Respect the Edge' campaign at stations over the festive season. The initiative aims to highlight the dangers posed by people and belongings getting trapped in train doors, particularly when a greater number of people are travelling.

Andy Camp, commercial director at London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, said: “A lot of people will be travelling over the Christmas and New Year period and we want everyone to get where they need to be as smoothly as possible. We would advise passengers to leave plenty of time to make their journey and to check their train times before setting out. We don’t want anyone to get caught out by amended timetables or to miss their last train home.”

On Christmas Eve, reduced timetables will operate on some routes from 1500 onwards, with services finishing earlier than usual. The last trains from towns and cities are often very busy, so passengers are advised to travel earlier in the day wherever possible.

There will be no trains operating on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Services will then resume slightly later than normal on Thursday 27 December.

Planned improvement works are taking place from Thursday 27 December until Tuesday 1 January, affecting services across the network.

On Thursday 27 December, buses will replace trains between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey until 1245.

From Thursday 27 December until Tuesday 1 January, London Northwestern Railway services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool will operate as far north as Runcorn. These trains will operate to a slightly amended timetable. Buses will then replace trains between Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway, for connections onto Merseyrail services to/from central Liverpool.

From Thursday 27 December until 1200 on Sunday 30 December, a reduced timetable will operate to and from London Euston.

On Tuesday 1 January, a Sunday level of service will be in operation across the network.

For the latest travel updates over the festive period follow @lnrailway and @westmidrailway on Twitter

ENDS

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About West Midlands Trains

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email press.office@wmtrains.co.uk

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

  • London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.
  • West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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Contacts

Press Office - Media Use Only

Press Office - Media Use Only

Press contact 03300 955150
Liam Bolland

Liam Bolland

Press contact Media Relations Executive

West Midlands Trains Ltd. operator of train services calling at over 150 stations across England.

Operating train services between London and North West and in and around the West Midlands region.

West Midlands Trains
134 Edmund Street
B3 2ES Birmingham
United Kingdom