Network Rail engineers
Network Rail engineers

Passengers heading to and from Lichfield Trent Valley over the Bank Holiday weekend are being warned to plan ahead due to engineering work on the West Coast Main Line.

Track closures will be in place on the route between London Euston and Milton Keynes, and Warrington and Cumbria.

The changes could hit people heading for the capital, including local Aston Villa fans travelling to Wembley for the Championship play-off final.

Martin Frobisher, managing director of Network Rail’s London North Western route, said: “We recognise there is never an ideal time to shut the railway for our must-do work.

“Bank holidays are the least disruptive time to do it, when fewer passengers use the railway compared to the working week.

“That way we can do the maximum amount of work while impacting the fewest people. Sometimes a closure is the only way we can carry out major work like replacing track or improvements to overhead electric lines.

“Train companies and Network Rail have worked together to minimise disruption for customers by doing a lot of work over the recent bank holidays.

“The alternative would have been closing the line over multiple weekends throughout the summer.”

Passengers are being warned that even where the line is running they ay face longer journeys, fewer available seats, and could need to use rail replacement buses.

Robert Nisbet, regional director for the Rail Delivery Group, said: “This vital engineering work is part of the rail industry’s plan to add more services, improve punctuality and make journeys better, and as fewer people travel on bank holidays than on a normal weekday, we’re keeping disruption to a minimum.

“We encourage people who are planning to take the train over the May bank holidays to check before they travel.”

Full details of timetable changes can be found at nationalrail.co.uk.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.