Trains were running normally again this morning after a long weekend of upgrading the railway in many parts of the country.
Parts of the network affected by engineering possessions included Stockport, the Carlisle area, parts of Scotland and London Euston station, which was closed. Upgrades and repairs were also carried out at other sites in the south of England.
One upgrade at London Paddington overran, but all lines have now been reopened, although delays or cancellations are still possible this morning on the lines to Reading and Heathrow.
Even though the trains are back today there will be more disruption in less than two weeks from now, when more work will be carried out over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. There will be more work on signalling north of Carlisle and Euston will be closed again, along with projects at other worksites.
Network Rail North West and Central region capital delivery director Christian Irwin said: ‘We’ve invested millions of pounds to improve future journeys on the West Coast Main Line north this Easter, at a time of year when we know passenger numbers are lower so we can minimise disruption to one of the country’s most important rail routes.’
Kent route director David Davidson said: ‘This Easter we’ve continued to upgrade the railway for passengers with major projects in the Battersea and Lewisham areas, and between Eastbourne and Hastings.
‘We also took the opportunity to do some landslip prevention works at Chislet, on the line between Canterbury West and Minster, where because of increased rainfall as a result of climate change, the railway cutting is unlikely to withstand another winter. By doing this work over Easter we’ve been able to keep the railway open for longer, with fewer weekend closures being needed in the near future.’
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