The ‘vast majority of people’ travelling by train over the upcoming bank holiday weekends will be unaffected by improvement works, with 16% more trains running this year compared to the same period last year.
During the Easter and May Day bank holiday weekends, Network Rail engineers will be working round the clock to lay new track, repair bridges, update signalling systems and overhead power lines and improve stations, to help deliver a better railway for passengers.
Figures from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Network Rail show that:
- 18% more trains will run across the network this Easter compared to last year
- 13% more trains will run across the network this May Day bank holiday weekend compared to last year
- More than 90% of the rail network will run as normal, with routes between all but a few of the UK’s cities and main towns remain open with no bus replacement services
Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said:
“The vast majority of people travelling by train should experience no disruption whatsoever because of improvement work over Easter and the following bank holiday weekend.
“Millions of pounds are spent all year round by train companies and Network Rail to improve the network, to ensure that even more trains arrive on time and even more passengers are happy with their service.”
Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s director of operations and customer services, said:
“The rail network across the country is on the whole open for business over the bank holiday weekends with most routes operating normally. There will though be some areas where Network Rail will be undertaking improvement works to the railway bringing more comfortable and more reliable services for everyone.
“Massive strides have been made in recent years in reducing the impact of our work on passengers but we still advise anyone travelling over the weekend to check with their train operator before travelling to see whether there are any planned alterations or diversions for their journeys.”
