Transport planners are reportedly braced for knock-on delays across the UK
Train passengers travelling to London could face a decade of disruption due to a huge upgrade of the line. Work to replace more than 150 miles of overhead wires on the West Coast Main Line, which connects London to Glasgow with branches to Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, is expected to begin next year.
The wires were installed more than 50 years ago, so the once-in-a-generation revamp is essential to keep passenger and freight trains moving between Scotland and England. Expected to cost £3.8bn, the refurbishment project will cause significant disruption, with sections of the line closed for several weeks every year for at least a decade, reports the Mirror.
Transport planning documents show that Network Rail, the state rail infrastructure operator, will require engineers to take possession of the railway between Warrington Bank Quay in and Carlisle, Cumbria. It means other stations affected include Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme and Penrith.
Bus replacements are expected to be offered, but transport planners are reportedly braced for knock-on delays across the UK and fear worried passengers will book planes instead of trains between Scotland and London. The West Coast Main Line is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe, carrying 40% of all UK rail freight traffic.
Avanti West Coast, which operates services between London and Scotland on the lines, carried 32m passengers in 2023-24. It, though, says it is too early at this stage to predict the full impact on its timetable. The operator could be brought under government control as early as next year under Labour’s plans to renationalise the railways.
The Times reports the West Coast Main Line runs at close to capacity, so any closures have a huge knock-on effect on services. HS2, which was conceived to relieve the strain on the arterial west coast main line, was axed between Birmingham and Manchester by Rishi Sunak.
Chris Coleman, the industry programme director for the north at Network Rail, said: “Disruptive access will be required to deliver this work, which we will consult and agree with the wider industry over the coming months.”
