A host of essential rail upgrades have been carried out on the rail network between London Euston, the Midlands, North West and Scotland over the Easter period.
A total of £31m of investment works were carried out across Network Rail’s North West and Central region, as part of the UK’s wider Railway Upgrade Plan. The work saw:
- Ongoing work to upgrade signalling at Birmingham New Street station
- Two new bridges installed at Warrington Bank Quay station
- Two new underpasses driven underneath the Chiltern main line in Bicester
- Preparatory works at Euston station ahead of HS2
Working between April 2-6, 2021, Network Rail teams were able to carry out the works which would improve the long-term reliability of passenger and freight services on the West Coast main line, a major part of the British railway network.
Tim Shoveller, Managing Director for Network Rail’s North West & Central region, said: “Hundreds of frontline staff worked throughout the bank holiday to improve journeys for passengers and freight in the North West and Central region and I’m immensely proud of them and our contractors who helped Network Rail deliver these major upgrades.
“This is just the start of 2021’s work to make the West Coast main line more reliable for our passengers and pave the way for HS2, which will bring much-needed extra railway capacity as the country builds back better from the pandemic.
“Now our attention turns to the early May bank holiday when more essential railway improvements will take place. Because of the amount of work being done, passengers are being urged to travel either side of the bank holiday.”
