2013-04-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — Virgin Trains is urging customers to make sure they have reserved seats for train travel over the May Day bank holiday weekend by booking their tickets as soon as possible. This can be done on line by visiting virgintrains.com, phoning 0871 977 4222 or calling in at any Virgin Trains station where knowledgeable travel consultants will be able to discuss and book journey requirements. Weekend First Class Upgrades along with Off Peak tickets will be available for travel throughout the three day holiday weekend together with an extensive range of Advance tickets.
Network Rail is taking the opportunity to carry out essential route improvement work on the West Coast Main Line – one of the busiest rail routes in Europe – at certain times during the holiday period while less people are travelling to work. In most cases this work is scheduled to be completed by early afternoon on the bank holiday Monday allowing returning travellers to complete journeys without interruption. Where work is taking place, in many cases alternative routes are available for train travel, although in order to ensure that all stations are served, in some cases replacement coaches, will have to be used.
For full details of train and replacement coach timings visit either nationalrail.co.uk or call 08457 48 49 50.
Here is a day by day summary of those sections of route that are closed for improvement work:-
Saturday 4 May
- Rugby to Stafford via Nuneaton from 21:00 – Trains diverted via the West Midlands route
- Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street – Train connections via Manchester for journeys to/from
- London Euston or for local journeys use replacement coaches
- Crewe to Warrington Bank Quay from 10:00 – Train diversions via Chester
- Preston to Oxenholme – Replacement coaches, or for Anglo Scottish journeys to/from
- Birmingham New Street or London Euston use East Coast route
- Motherwell station– Train diversions
- Lockerbie to Edinburgh from 10:45 – Trains diverted via an alternative route
Sunday 5 May
- Milton Keynes to Rugby – An hourly service of trains to/from Euston diverted via an alternative route with passengers changing at either Coventry or Nuneaton for connections to the North. Replacement coaches serve Milton Keynes
- Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street – Replacement coaches connecting at Crewe out of services from the South
- Crewe to Glasgow Central – Replacement coaches, or for Anglo Scottish journeys to/from Birmingham New Street or London Euston use East Coast route
- Carlisle to Edinburgh – Replacement coaches
Monday 6 May
- Euston to Milton Keynes until 12:00 – Route open to trains but some individual lines shut so reductions in service frequency
- Birmingham International to Birmingham New Street – Trains diverted via an alternative route
- Preston to Oxenholme until 13:00 – Replacement coaches
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