There will be no trains calling at Stone or Stafford stations over the August bank holiday weekend as long-term improvements to the railway near Stafford cause short-term changes to normal services.
Buses will operate between Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford, calling at Stone.
- For Stoke, buses will leave the stop on Crown Street
- For Stafford, it will be the stop in Granville Square.
The vital work – which will improve performance, reliability and line speed in the Stafford area – will be carried out from the close of service on Friday 28th August until the first trains on Tuesday 1st September.
Trains will not be running through Stafford with Virgin Trains, CrossCountry and London Midland services being diverted. London Midland trains between Liverpool and Birmingham will be running between Liverpool and Crewe only. Buses will be replacing trains between Crewe and Birmingham, calling at the intermediate stations normally served by these trains.
The closure of the railway is necessary to complete the re-signalling of the Stafford area which will see 78 modern signals installed. The upgrade will boost the reliability of the equipment on this section of West Coast main line and will mean all platforms at Stafford station will be able to accommodate trains in either direction. This will help the overall reliability of the railway in Stafford.
Mark Killick, area director for Network Rail, said: “This vital work will help to deliver regional and national benefits as the demand for passenger and freight services continues to increase on the West Coast main line. We have carefully planned the work to take place over the August bank holiday weekend when it is traditionally quieter. However we appreciate that it will still cause disruption to passengers and I thank them for their cooperation and patience.
“Working with London Midland, Virgin Trains and CrossCountry, we want to make sure that everyone who plans to travel over the bank holiday is prepared and has made the best choices to help them make their journey.”
The work at Stafford is part of a £250 million programme of investment by Network Rail which has already delivered line-speed improvements between Stafford and Crewe. A new flyover which will carry trains between Birmingham and Manchester over the West Coast main line at Norton Bridge is also being built to remove the last major bottleneck on the route and to help deliver the capability to run more freight and passenger services.
The work is being delivered by the Staffordshire Alliance – a partnership of Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, Network Rail and VolkerRail.
To plan ahead and check before you travel visit www.nationalrail.co.uk
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