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Passengers warned of Christmas train disruption

Helen Burchell
News imageGetty Images Three railway workers in orange hi-vis overalls working on railway track under floodlights. They are all wearing hard hats. One has a power tool which is creating sparks as it hits the metal of the permanent way. The others have tools which they are applying to the track.Getty Images
Work will take place from Christmas and into the new year

Train passengers are being warned of significant disruption to their journeys over Christmas and into the new year.

Network Rail is carrying out a £26m upgrade to the railway junction across all four main lines at Hanslope in Northamptonshire.

Between 24 December and 5 January there will be no trains on the West Coast Main Line between Milton Keynes and Northampton or Rugby, with rail replacement buses in operation.

The company said it was part of an investment of £196m by Network Rail to make journeys more reliable for passengers and freight.

Network Rail said teams would be replacing large sections of track and the stone foundations beneath the lines at the junction, near Milton Keynes.

It said more than 12,500 tonnes of new stone would be laid, and more than 130 new track panels would be installed.

"Some track panels will be built off-site and others will be assembled directly on location. Specialist machinery will be used to lift and position the new track, and we'll be working across all four railway lines in the area," Network Rail said on its website.

News imageNetwork Rail Four yellow catenary maintenance vehicles with extendable arms terminated by platforms on which people in orange hi-vis are working on overhead power lines. The vehicles are running on the railway track. There are more workers in hi-vis walking on the track. There are trees to the right and left of the lines.Network Rail
The company is carrying out work in tracks on the West Coast Main Line

Platform improvement work at both Milton Keynes and Wolverton stations was expected to take place at the same time, when no trains would be running from there.

Network Rail said people living near the railway might notice "increased activity... including overnight work and deliveries of materials".

"We'll do our best to keep noise and disruption to a minimum," they said.

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