Rail passengers warned over six-day Easter shutdown on west coast mainline
Rail passengers planning to travel over the Easter break face disrupted journeys owing to a six-day shutdown on Britain’s biggest intercity line.Engineering work means there will be no west coast mainline services between London Euston and Milton Keynes from Good Friday (3 April) to Wednesday 8 April.There will also be no service between Preston and Lancaster on the line on 4-5 April.Network Rail said the work, which is part of a £400m project to increase the reliability of the line, was vital and that bank holidays were chosen for such works because they were among the least busy times to close.“The four-day period at Easter gives us a valuable opportunity to complete projects that simply can’t be delivered during a normal weekend,” said Jake Kelly, the body’s regional director for the north-west and central region.
“This ensures we maximise the time our teams are out working on the tracks.”New track will be laid at Willesden, north London, while there will be repairs and upgrades at Harrow and Wealdstone station.A bridge in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, will be given extra protection to prevent future damage.Network Rail shut the west coast mainline for four days over the Easter break last year.“We know how important bank holidays are – particularly at Easter, when families and friends come together,” Kelly said.
“That’s why we work hard to keep as much of the network open as possible while carrying out these vital upgrades.”Elsewhere on Great Britain’s rail network, engineers will be involved in more than 270 other upgrade projects over the Easter period.Avanti West Coast will run services between Preston and Carlisle via the Settle-Carlisle line.Anglo-Scottish services will be diverted via Dumfries and Kilmarnock between Good Friday and Easter Monday.Over the same period, services between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction will be reduced, and there will be no trains between Winchester and Southampton in Hampshire, or between Herne Bay and Ramsgate in Kent.
“Passengers will see some changes, and it’s a good idea for people to check before they travel,” Kelly said.
Ian Arnot obituary
My friend and former colleague Ian Arnot, who has died of cancer aged 45, was an LQBTQ+ activist, charity leader and fellow of the Chartered Institute of PR (CIPR). He was also a longstanding non-executive director in the charitable sector in Edinburgh, and served as BT’s head of corporate communications from 2020 to 2025.Ian became well known in media and political circles in Scotland and London during his 24-year career with BT Group. He was appointed a chartered fellow of CIPR in 2023, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the institute and the profession, and was elected vice-chair of CIPR Scotland in 2025. He was about to start a new role with the IHG hotel group at the time of his terminal diagnosis, which he bore with typical resilience, courage and hope
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Brendan Fanning has been assessing Wales’s chances in this here fixtureGet in touch, why don’t you?I look forward to receiving your views on the action and more besides on the email. Keep them coming.Team news.Andy Farrell makes five changes to the team that humped England. In the backs, Jacob Stockdale comes in on the wing for the injured James Lowe
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