Easter train shutdowns threaten return to rail

Buses will replace trains on stretches of some main lines

Line of duty: tracks north of Sheffield station, where Easter engineering works will take place (Network Rail)

Over the first weekend that leisure travel by train is permitted in England after 12 weeks of lockdown, rail passengers will face widespread disruption due to planned engineering works.

According to the prime minister’s roadmap, England’s stay at home rule will be lifted on Monday 29 March.

During the four-day Easter holiday at the end of that week, several key inter-city lines and busy local routes will be closed to trains – requiring travellers to transfer to rail replacement buses.

No trains will run direct on the main line between London and East Anglia. Elsewhere, passengers on the West Coast main line face a series of obstacles, while there will also be disruption in Yorkshire and southern England.

The government says that people should “minimise travel” from 29 March. But as this is guidance rather than law, travellers may seek to take advantage of the easing to visit family and friends, as outdoor gatherings will be permitted.

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Anyone who does will discover that several key lines will be closed due to Network Rail projects.

The works were scheduled for Easter because it normally has a lighter passenger load. But in 2021 the opposite may happen, with a surge of passengers over the long weekend from Friday 2 to Monday 5 April.

Network Rail says that during the pandemics many projects have been brought forward to take advantage of a quieter railway and minimise disruption for passengers

The rail minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, said: “I urge passengers to minimise travel over the Easter weekend, but for those that need to, remember to plan ahead and avoid the busiest routes.”

Last month the chair of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy, speculated that weekends could become busier than working days.

“If Saturday and Sunday get really busy, we should do engineering works some other time,” he told a conference.

Rail passenger numbers have collapsed during the coronavirus pandemic. For around half of the past year, leisure travel by train has been illegal.

Provisional figures from the Department for Transport for the first week of March show rail passenger numbers are down to just one-sixth of pre-pandemic levels, while car use has increased to two-thirds of normal numbers.

Mind the gaps: the most significant Easter rail disruption

Passengers are advised to check all journey plans with National Rail Enquiries.

East Anglia

The main line linking London with Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk will be closed right through the weekend. Network Rail is working on the link from the Liverpool Street terminus in the capital to Shenfield.

It says: “Work is taking place to improve the reliability of the lines, and on preparing for the introduction of Crossrail services.”

Crossrail, a new high-capacity link running east-west through London, was due to open in 2018 but is running several years behind schedule.

Passengers between London, Ipswich and Norwich will need to travel to and from Newbury Park underground station on the Central Line and take a bus to the station of Ingatestone in Essex.

Journey times between London and Colchester will more than double.

West Coast main line

A series of engineering projects will affect the main link between London Euston, the West Midlands, northwest England and southern Scotland.

Capacity between London and Milton Keynes will be reduced due to work at Euston station for HS2, the new high-speed line, and between Hemel Hempstead and Leighton Buzzard. Work will also take place between Rugby and Birmingham.

The line between Crewe and Liverpool will be closed from noon on Easter Saturday for 48 hours, with buses replacing Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern trains.

Between Saturday and Monday, the main line from Crewe via Warrington to Wigan will be closed, with trains diverted and journey times extended.

Northwest England

As well as the disruption caused by the West Coast main line work, buses will replace trains between Chester and Manchester Piccadilly.

Yorkshire

Engineering work is taking place between Sheffield and Wakefield Westgate, with buses replacing trains.

Chilterns

Trains on the main line between London Marylebone and Birmingham will be diverted via Oxford.

London suburban

The north-south Thameslink line through London will be closed between Mill Hill Broadway and West Hampstead due to work on a new Brent Cross station.

London Charing Cross and Waterloo East stations will be closed, with south-east London and Kent trains starting and ending at Cannon Street.

Southern England

In Surrey, Guildford station will be closed for all four days of the Easter weekend, with trains between London and Portsmouth diverted and taking significantly longer.

The line between Southampton Central and Brockenhurst in the New Forest will be closed on Easter Saturday and Sunday.

On Southern, trains between London Victoria and Bognor Regis or Portsmouth Harbour will be diverted and will not call at Crawley, Gatwick airport or East Croydon.