HUGE delays are predicted as thousands of travellers heading home for the Easter Bank Holiday will be hampered by major train station closures and reduced services.
Easter revellers are being urged to travel before the bank holiday rush as 40% of the UK’s ten busiest train stations will close or run a reduced service due to engineering works over the bank holiday.
Traveller chaos is predicted as four out of the UK’s top ten busiest stations are affected by interestingly timed engineering works[/caption]
Most of Euston stations major lines will be affected[/caption]
The level of closures makes it imperative that you check the lines before you travel here.
Most of London Euston’s major lines will close over the weekend, London Victoria will operate a severely reduced service, Edinburgh’s line to Carlisle will close, and disruptions will impact travel from London Paddington.
London Euston, used by 100k travellers daily, will close for the whole bank holiday for major engineering works.
Improvements to overhead lines, switches and crossings (which allow trains to move tracks) and drainage will improve long-term reliability but may spell a dampener for your weekend travel plans.
The line from the nation’s tenth busiest station to Scotland will be completely closed, and links from Euston to Milton Keynes will close from Saturday to Monday.
Friday will operate a reduced timetable, making it imperative that travellers heading home for Easter head home before the bank holiday.
Southeastern trains won’t stop at London Victoria, the UK’s sixth busiest station, from Friday 18 to Monday 21 April.
Whilst this is likely to infuriate travellers, the critical work for track renewals, resignalling, maintenance and structure work at Battersea are key to ensuring the line’s safety.
The Avanti West Coast line between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh will be completely closed.
Sadly no TransPennine Express trains will operate between Carlisle and Glasgow Central or Edinburgh either.
Thankfully replacement bus services will run between Preston and Carlisle and Carlisle and Glasgow- but they can, as we all know, be rather slow.
Unwitting families in Carlisle will be caught out if they don’t plan ahead[/caption]
Southern Rail through Victoria Station will be affected[/caption]
The train that normally runs between London Euston, Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Central/ Edinburgh will be shortened to chugging between Milton Keynes Central / Birmingham New Street and Carlisle.
To compensate, the train stops at extra stations: Rugby, Stafford, Crewe, Penrith North Lakes, and Oxenholme Lake District.
Liverpool’s Lime Street’s overground trains will be completely closed on Sunday, April 20
Lines between Mossley Hill, Huyton and Lime Street will be closed all day.
The reason for these closures is that engineers will be replacing track switches and crossings, as well as carrying out proactive maintenance work to the electrical supply equipment.
The station that inspired Britain’s most famous bear, Paddington will also have a significantly reduced service.
The controversial new Elizabeth line, which has been plagued by closures, won’t run between Abbey Wood and Maidenhead.
Trains will be diverted to run only between Abbey Wood and London Paddington.
No trains will call at Acton Main Line, Hanwell or West Ealing and Maidenhead, Burnham, Slough, Langley, West Drayton and Heathrow Terminal 4 will have a reduced service of 2 trains per hour.
The number of trains running between Bedford and London St Pancras International will be zilch, so you might have to rethink your spontaneous trip to Paris on the Eurostar.
Replacement busses will run between Bedford and Hitchin to help you get alternative trains to London.
Great Western Railway trains to major cities, Bristol, Exeter, Oxford and Reading will curiously be departing up to 10 minutes early so make sure you get there in good time.
Buses will also replace trains between Harpenden and Bedford on Thameslink over the weekend, and a “revised” service will run between London Bridge and Rainham, Harpenden and Brighton, West Hampstead Thameslink and Three Bridges.
The Heathrow Express will only operate once every half an hour in both directions.
But if you thought you could evade a train travel nightmare by hopping in your car, think again, an estimated 19million drivers are set to hit the roads, with many main motorways partially closed.
The unseasonably sunny spell we have been enjoying is also predicted to end just in time for a soggy Easter egg hunt with the Met Office predicting a washout.
EASTER RAIL DISRUPTION
A detailed list of Easter Bank holiday Closures
- London Euston will not run any trains to Milton Keynes Central from Saturday 19 to Monday 21 April.
- A reduced service will fun from Milton Keynes Central to Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool Lime Street, Carlisle, Rugby and Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.
- Liverpool Lime Street will be completely closed.
- Stockport Engineering work trains to and from Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke on Trent won’t call at Macclesfield or Stockport- replacement busses will be available.
- Due to engineering work at London Euston, and between Preston, Carlisle and Carstairs, a significantly amended Anglo-Scottish service will be operating on Saturday and Sunday.
- The route between Carlisle and either Glasgow Central or Edinburgh will be completely closed- buses will be provided for both Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express tickets.
- On Sunday an hourly train service will operate between Milton Keynes Central and Preston, with some services extending to Carlisle. Replacement road transport will run between Carlisle and Glasgow Central.
- Trains on the Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street routes are all reduced over the weekend, and trains to and from Holyhead will only run from Crewe on Saturday and Sunday.
- No trains will run between Rugby and Stafford , busses will be provided between Coventry and Nuneaton, and Birmingham International and Lichfield Trent Valley on Saturday and Sunday.
- On bank holiday Monday services to and from Glasgow Central will be diverted between Crewe and Wigan North Western via (but not stopping at) Manchester and Eccles.
- Accessible buses will operate between Crewe and Wigan North Western for customers requiring connections to and from Warrington Bank Quay.
- Edinburgh services will operate between Preston and Edinburgh.
- Monday train lines on the Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street routes will run a reduced service but the Holyhead and the route between Rugby and Stafford will continue to be closed.