London Euston passengers urged to plan journeys ahead of huge Easter improvements

Passengers travelling into and out of London Euston this Easter have been urged to plan their journeys in advance ahead of major upgrade work.

Between Friday 3 and Wednesday 8 April, teams of engineers will be working to improve railway track, signalling and overhead line equipment between Euston and Milton Keynes.

The journey improving work includes:

• £8.4m of essential track work will take place 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 (ballast).
• 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.
• Work will be taking place at Apsley station as part of the £8.9m Access for All scheme to install three new lifts onto the existing footbridge and make the station fully step free.

It is all part of a wider £400m project to boost the reliability of the West Coast Main Line – Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway.

As a result of these upgrades, there will be no trains between London Euston and Milton Keynes from 3 to 8 April, with trains returning on Thursday 9 April.

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.”

Chris Liptrot, Operations Director at Avanti West Coast, said: “While Network Rail carry out this essential work, we’ll be operating an amended timetable with journeys to and from London Euston involving changes or rail replacement buses. We strongly advise customers making journeys to or from London Euston between 3 and 8 April to plan ahead and check the National Rail website before travelling.”

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “I would like to thank our customers for their patience while Network Rail carries out these essential upgrades to the railway over the Easter period.

“During this time it is important for passengers to plan their journeys carefully as rail replacement transport will be in operation and travel times will be extended.”

To plan rail journeys in advance please use www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest travel information.