Travellers are being warned to expect long delays over the bank holiday weekend.
People travelling over the Easter weekend are set to face long delays and cancellations due to engineering works on the rail network.
No trains will run into or out of Euston, which is likely to disrupt fans travelling to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Heathrow, Gatwick and Stanstead Airports will also be affected.
The timing of the closures has been described as “ludicrous” as it is the first bank holiday where all legal Covid restrictions have been axed.
Simon Calder, travel editor at The Independent newspaper added: “Far more people [are] travelling at weekends now than during the week and now they find they can’t go anyway and that’s something Network Rail has to address.”
Network Rail said it was undertaking a £22m upgrade project and has advised people to travel either side of the bank holiday.
Airport travel
Many air passengers have already experienced a bad start to their holidays, after 1,000 UK flights were cancelled.
British Airways and Easyjet blamed staff shortages for the problems.
Mr Calder said “over-optimism on the part of the airlines” was to blame for the delays, and warned air travel could be problematic throughout the holidays.
“The pressure is going to be on this coming weekend and the Thursday and Friday before the Easter weekend,” he said.
Here’s how London airports are affected:
- Heathrow: Part of the Piccadilly Line is set to be closed between Acton Town and all Heathrow terminals from Good Friday to Easter Monday TfL Rail and Heathrow Express services will continue to operate, and replacement bus services will be provided
- Gatwick: No Gatwick Express trains will run all weekend (Friday-Monday)
- Stanstead: Buses will replace trains between the airport and Waltham Cross all weekend.
Train services affected
Network Rail, which manages rail tracks, said there was “never an ideal time to shut the railway”, but Easter was an opportunity to carry out “essential work”.
Dave Penney, passenger director for the North West and Central region, said: “Long bank holiday weekends continue to give our engineers the time they need to close the railway for complex jobs like track replacements and bridge overhauls while disrupting the fewest number of people.”
- Euston: No trains will run to or from Euston all weekend. Trains to to the West Midlands, north-west England and parts of Scotland will instead start from Milton Keynes Central
- No trains on the Chiltern Line between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway (16-17 April). Replacement buses will run from Aylesbury to Beaconsfield, where a train service will run to Marylebone
- Clapham Junction: Many services will not stop at Vauxhall or Earlsfield. Trains to Salisbury will stop at Basingstoke, and there will several other timetable alterations
- Victoria Station: No Southern Railway services will run from Victoria all weekend due to the maintenance work affecting the Gatwick Express
- There will also be some closures and timetable alterations on c2c and Greater Anglia
Image source, HS2
London Underground, Overground and DLR
If you are planning to stay in London, your journey could still be fraught with delays and diversions, due to several parts of the Tube network closing.
- Hammersmith & City line: The entire will be shut for the whole bank holiday weekend
- District line: Closed between Tower Hill and West Ham, as well as between Kensington (Olympia), due to works related to the new Elizabeth line. The line will also be closed on Easter Sunday between Turnham Green and Richmond for track maintenance
- Parts of the Northern and Piccadilly lines will also be shut
- DLR: Closed between Prince Regent and Beckton from 15-17 April because of work to introduce new trains
- Overground will be shut between Euston and Kilburn High Road, and between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town and between Cheshunt and Chingford on 17 April
TfL said customers should check before travelling and acknowledged the closures may be frustrating.
“Easter is an ideal time for us to undertake essential improvement works on the network as demand is lower and the four day weekend means we can do complex works that take longer,” a spokesperson said.
“We’d encourage customers to check before they travel, using our website or the TfL Go app.”
FA Cup semi-finals
Network Rail is advising Manchester City and Liverpool fans against travelling by train to Wembley Stadium on 16 April as trains from the North West will terminate at Milton Keynes Central, potentially leaving fans stranded.
Chiltern Railway says it’s offering high-capacity trains from some stations, including Gerrards Cross, Oxford Parkway, High Wycombe and Beaconsfield, but those services are expected to be very busy due to closures elsewhere.
The FA is advising match-goers to use the Chiltern line, or travel by car or Tube to Wembley Park.
