Many London Midland trains between Coventry and London will be replaced by buses over May Day Bank Holiday Weekend, as Network Rail works on improvements to the railway which will result in better services.
The work, part of an £8 billion upgrade which will allow faster and more frequent services to London on the West Coast Mainline for all rail services, means the railway around Rugby station will be closed over the May Day weekend (May 3-5).
Buses will replace London Midland trains between:
- Northampton and Coventry, from Saturday to Bank Holiday Monday (May 3-5) inclusive.
- London Euston and Northampton, and between Northampton and Coventry on Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday (May 4-5) inclusive.
- Coventry and Nuneaton from Saturday to Bank Holiday Monday (May 3-5) inclusive.
- Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International all day on Sunday (May 4).
- Adderley Park and neighbouring stations as trains between Birmingham and Coventry will not be stopping there.
In addition:
- London Midland trains between London Euston and Bletchley will be running until 9.45pm on Saturday (May 3).
- The last train of the Bank Holiday Weekend from London Euston to Bletchley is the 9.45pm on Saturday (May 3), arriving in Bletchley at 10.45pm; afterwards, all trains will be replaced by buses throughout the Bank Holiday Weekend.
- London Midland will be running train services on the between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey (the Abbey Line) over the weekend, to coincide with the line's 150th anniversary celebrations on May 5.
- To make journeys in and out of London easier, London Midland will be running two buses an hour between Northampton and Wellingborough for connecting services to London St Pancras.
Anyone travelling north of Northampton from London may have a quicker journey by using another train operator's service. Details of the bus replacement timetable will be published on the London Midland website and available through online booking services.
London Midland's operations director Andy Thomas said: "We are working closely with Network Rail and other organisations to keep disruption to a minimum; for instance by scheduling the closures for Bank Holiday weekend when we know fewer people travel. We know such work does cause disruption to people's travel plans, but in the longer term it is necessary to build a better railway for all users.
"Please allow more time for your journey, and check in advance with National Rail Enquiries to see whether your plans will be affected."
The Rugby closure is one of a number of stages of the West Coast engineering project which will affect London Midland services in 2008. Ultimately the completion of this major work will mean that London Midland will be able to introduce new and extra train services, especially serving Liverpool and the north west and direct London services through the Trent Valley to Lichfield and Rugeley.
Passengers can find out more about London Midland services from www.londonmidland.com, or from National Rail Enquiries on 0845 7 48 49 50, at www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Information on the work itself is at on Network Rail's website.
