Sports fans and event visitors heading to London are reminded to avoid Euston station as it closes for three summer weekends

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Monday, 13 August 2018

Sports fans and event visitors heading to London are reminded to avoid Euston station as it closes for three summer weekends

Football, rugby and cricket fans along with people visiting events and concerts are urged to avoid rail travel to and from Euston station over the next three weekends.

As part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan, Network Rail is replacing North Wembley junction – a major intersection on Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway.

The junction is old and replacing it will mean passenger and freight users will benefit from better, more reliable journeys in future.

Unfortunately doing this vital job requires shutting the line. The least disruptive time to do this work, jointly agreed by rail industry partners, is over the following three weekends:

  • 18-19 August
  • 25-27 August (bank holiday weekend)
  • 1-2 September

Work will also be taking place at Coventry station over the August bank holiday (25 - 27 August) with buses replacing trains between Birmingham International and Rugby.

These works will impact all London Northwestern Railway services between London Euston and Birmingham / Crewe.

Train passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance at www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast and using information on their train operators’ websites.

If customers cannot avoid travelling over these weekends and have plans to attend major events, including the Notting Hill Carnival, Godiva Festival, the Rugby Challenge Cup at Wembley or football fixtures in London, they’re advised to expect very different journeys to normal – busier trains and longer, diverted routes. The advice is, as always to ‘check before you travel’ at www.nationalrail.co.uk

Martin Frobisher, managing director for Network Rail’s London North Western route said: “There is never an ideal time to shut the railway but these three weekends are the least disruptive times to do it.

“We have worked together for the past three years with train operators to carefully plan this closure of the railway in a way that minimises the impact on customers.

“It’s vital the track at North Wembley is replaced to continue to safely meet the huge demand of passenger and freight rail services on the West Coast main line. This work will result in better, more reliable journeys in future.”

Peter Broadley, executive director for customer, operations and safety at Virgin Trains on the west coast, said: “With no services into or out of Euston we strongly advise our customers to avoid travelling to London on the days affected. We know this will impact on people’s travel plans, particularly over a Bank Holiday weekend so we encourage customers to plan ahead and where possible travel at other times.”

Andrew Conroy, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway said: “Our aim is to keep people moving if they have to travel on these dates. Improvement works are never convenient for anyone, but we have a tried and tested plan for operating buses to connect with alternative routes to and from London when Euston is closed. We still advise customers to travel on alternative days as these options will take significantly longer.”

Alan Riley, customer services director for Chiltern Railways said: “The Chiltern Railways’ services between Birmingham and London Marylebone will be much busier than normal. However, we will be doing everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible and we’ll have extra capacity where we can and extra Chiltern ambassadors at stations to help.”

Euston’s shops and access to London Underground will remain available throughout the three weekends.

All customers are urged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk/westcoast for the very latest travel information.

Notes to editors

For further information on West Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway or West Midlands Railway call our newsroom on 03300 955150.


About West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains Ltd. will be running the West Midlands rail franchise from 10 December 2017 until 2025/6. Abellio has a 70.1% share of the company, East Japan Railway Company (JRE) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) own the remaining 29.9% in a 50:50 split.

About Abellio
Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Every day our people provide rail, bus and tram services to 1.7m customers across the UK, Germany and in the Netherlands. In the UK we operate buses through Abellio London, as well as ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, and Merseyrail in a joint venture with Serco. In Germany we operate Abellio Deutschland, serving communities in North Rhine Westfalia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia. Our role in transport extends beyond the journey from a-to-b. With our international heritage and our policy of sharing best practice, not just amongst ourselves, but across the wider transport industry, we provide thought leadership and truly innovative ideas which make a positive contribution to the communities we serve. For more information on Abellio visit www.abellio.com

About Mitsui
Mitsui is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world with 139 offices in 66 countries as of March, 2017. Utilising our global operating locations, network and information resources, we are multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Integrated Transportation Systems, Chemicals, Energy, Food Resources, Food Products & Services, Consumer Services, IT & Communication, and Corporate Development Business. Mitsui is actively taking on challenges for global business innovation around the world. For more information, visit www.mitsui.com .

About JR East
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) was established in 1987, when Japanese National Railways was divided as part of a package of railway reforms. JR East’s railway business covers a 7,500 km (approx. 4,660 miles) network in the eastern part of the Japanese main island, including Tokyo Metropolitan area, and provides transportation services, comprising urban, suburban and high speed operations, for 17 million passengers on a daily basis. JR East also undertakes non‐transport commercial activities, which account for more than 30% of the total revenue of JR East Group. JR East contributes to passengers and communities it serves by delivering high degrees of punctuality, reliability and comfort and also continues to pursue higher levels of safety and service quality through technical innovation. For more information, visit www.jreast.co.jp/e .