Major disruptions are coming to the West Coast Main Line affecting millions of passengers
London: Big changes are on the way for train travelers on the West Coast Main Line. Millions of passengers are bracing for some serious disruptions.
This line is a major route connecting London to northern England and Scotland. If you’ve ever taken a train from London Euston to places like Glasgow or Manchester, you’ve used this line.
Network Rail, which manages the UK’s rail infrastructure, has announced that they need to do some major work starting next year. This means parts of the line will be closed for weeks at a time, and it’s going to affect a lot of people.
They plan to close sections of the route in blocks each year from 2026 to 2028. Stations like Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan, and Carlisle will be impacted. It’s a big deal since this line connects to 46 stations in total.
They’re looking to replace over 150 miles of overhead wires that are pretty old, dating back to the 1970s. Along with that, they’ll upgrade the signals and tracks to improve the service.
Chris Coleman from Network Rail mentioned that this is part of a larger program to bring digital signaling to the line. They’re still figuring out the details and costs, so it’s early days yet.
Avanti West Coast, one of the main train operators, said it’s too soon to know how this will affect their schedules. This comes right after the government announced plans to renationalize some train services in the UK.
Just recently, Network Rail did some major work over the holiday season, urging passengers to avoid traveling during that time. So, it looks like more changes are on the horizon for train travel in the UK.
