Millions of rail passengers face 'decade of disruption' as major train line to close for repairs for weeks at a time
15 January 2025, 05:39 | Updated: 15 January 2025, 06:49
Millions of railway passengers are facing a decade of disruption, with a major train line set to close for weeks every year for repairs.
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The West Coast Main Line, which connects London with Glasgow and has branches running to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh, needs to have overhead wires replaced, as well as signal and track upgrades.
The work will require engineers to close the line for weeks every year to keep freight traffic between London and Scotland going.
Stations that will be particularly affected include Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle, according to the Times, citing Network Rail planning documents.
Rail replacement buses will be laid on, but there are fears the works will cause delays across the UK rail network.
Read more: Britain’s railway system is broken – it doesn’t have to be this way
Plans to minimise disruption for railway passengers are said to be under discussion.
The works are needed to replace over 150 miles of overhead wires that were installed in 1974, over 50 years ago. Engineers will also replace 140 miles of railway tracks and 2,000 signalling units.
The cost of the project, which has been named Trilink, could stretch to nearly £4 billion, although the budget has not been confirmed yet.
The work is set to begin next year.
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The West Coast Main Line runs at close to capacity, which means closures have a significant knock-on effect.
HS2, which was supposed to relieve pressure on the line, was scrapped by Rishi Sunak's government.
Chris Coleman, the industry programme director for the north at Network Rail, said: “Trilink is an industry-wide programme bringing digital signalling to the west coast mainline, north, as well as renewing track and overhead line equipment that are reaching the end of their life.
“Disruptive access will be required to deliver this work, which we will consult and agree with the wider industry over the coming months.
“The programme is at a very early stage of development and work to refine the delivery programme and confirm the costs is under way.”
