Travellers Urged To Plan Ahead Amid Network Rail Festive Upgrades

Network Rail has just announced its plans to work on transport infrastructure over the Christmas period. West Midlands and North of England services will be affected, so officials say to plan ahead.

The work is scheduled to be completed when the traditional shutdown periods take place - from Christmas Eve until 27th December to prevent as much disruption as possible. However, travellers will still be impacted as they travel across the country for Christmas celebrations.

In addition to the necessary work, other work is planned too. This could negatively affect journeys that take place on others dates too. Travellers have been warned that due to sections of the railway being closed for construction, trains will be busier and journey times may be longer. There will be a rail replacement on offer if travellers prefer to travel by alternative means.

Network Rail has said that the works taking place will result in a more reliable railway network next year, in 2023.

Works planned include:

• Closure of Manchester Piccadilly from Christmas Day until December 27th to carry out roof repairs;
• Both platforms 13 and 14 to be closed completely from Christmas Day until January 3rd for resurfacing works;
• Bridge renewals to be completed on the West Coast Main Line that runs in Camden and Milton Keynes;
• Birmingham New Street Signaling to be upgraded to digital with final testing being carried out on Christmas Eve and December 27th;
• Upgrades to the Transpennine Route between Manchester and York impacting journeys along the way from December 31st to January 3rd.

The managing director of Network Rail's North West and Central region, Tim Shoveller stated:

 "While people enjoy time with their friends and families over Christmas, thousands of Network Rail staff will be working round-the-clock to maintain and improve the railway to provide passengers with better, more reliable journeys in the New Year. I know there is never a good time to disrupt journeys while we carry out large pieces of work but, whenever possible, we do this at times when there are significantly fewer people travelling by train, such as Christmas and other bank holidays. I appreciate people have important plans so I urge them to please plan ahead and check before they travel for the latest journey information."

As a result of the planned works taking place, more Network Rail and rail jobs are available. If interested, please contact us today to discuss suitable job openings.