Major Crewe Area Resignalling Work: Amended service via Crewe from Friday 27 December until Thursday 2 January
Engineering work details
Starts Friday 27 December 2024 to Thursday 02 January 2025
Route(s) affected
Avanti West Coast between Glasgow Central / Edinburgh / Preston / Liverpool Lime Street / Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston
CrossCountry between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street / Bournemouth
East Midlands Railway between Crewe and Newark Castle
London Northwestern Railway between London Euston / Northampton and Crewe and also between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street
Northern between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly
Transport for Wales between Fishguard Harbour / Cardiff Central / Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly and between Birmingham International / Shrewsbury / Chester and Crewe and also between Crewe and Llandudno Junction
Description
Engineering work is taking place in and around Crewe between Christmas and New Year, closing various lines. Background information on the work at Crewe, and at other locations on the West Coast Main Line, has been published by Network Rail.
The following amendments will be made to services:
Avanti West Coast:
You can find information about the amendments to Avanti West Coast services below and also by visiting their website.
Friday 27 December
Services will start from around 08:00.
Replacement buses will run between:
Stoke-on-Trent and Preston via Crewe
Stoke-on-Trent and Chester via Crewe
Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool Lime Street
Wilmslow and Macclesfield
The following services will operate in both directions (unless stated):
Manchester Piccadilly - London Euston:
1 train per hour calling at Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central.
1 train per hour calling at Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Rugby and Milton Keynes Central.
Glasgow Central - London Euston:
1 train per hour diverted via Manchester stations (not calling).
North Wales Coast route:
A very limited service between Holyhead and Chester.
Wolverhampton / Birmingham New Street - London Euston:
2 trains per hour between Birmingham New Street and London Euston, with one service extended every two hours to Wolverhampton.
Edinburgh - Preston:
1 train every 2 hours running between Edinburgh and Preston.
Liverpool Lime Street - London Euston:
There will be no Liverpool Lime Street service.
Avanti West Coast services are unable to call at Lichfield Trent Valley or Tamworth stations. These stations will be served by London Northwestern Railway.
Saturday 28 December to Tuesday 31 December
Buses will replace trains between:
Wolverhampton and Stafford
Wilmslow and Macclesfield
The following services will operate in both directions (unless stated):
Manchester Piccadilly - London Euston:
Reduced service of 2 trains per hour, both via Stoke-on-Trent.
Glasgow Central - London Euston:
Trains will be diverted extending journey times with an additional call at Crewe.
A few late night buses will run between Preston and Crewe on Sunday 29 December.
North Wales Coast route:
Trains will operate between Holyhead and Crewe.
Wolverhampton / Birmingham New Street - London Euston:
Some services will be withdrawn.
Edinburgh - Preston:
Services will run between Edinburgh and Preston.
Liverpool Lime Street - London Euston:
Trains will be diverted via an alternative route.
A replacement bus will run from Crewe at 22:55 for Liverpool Lime Street on Saturday 28 December.
Wednesday 1 January and Thursday 2 January
The RMT union has announced strike action affecting Avanti West Coast services on 2 January. Avanti West Coast timetables and operating hours will be significantly reduced and trains that do run are expected to be busy. Please use the travel information for 2 January on the Avanti West Coast strike page, which replaces some of the original information detailed below.
Buses will replace trains between:
Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street
Wilmslow and Macclesfield
Crewe and Preston (Wednesday) / Wigan North Western (Thursday)
Liverpool Lime Street - London Euston:
There will be no Liverpool Lime Street service.
London Northwestern Railway:
Friday 27 December
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford only (at a reduced level of frequency).
Trains between London Euston / Northampton and Crewe will run between London Euston / Northampton and Stafford only.
Rail replacement buses will operate between Stafford and Crewe / Liverpool South Parkway.
You are advised to travel on Merseyrail train services between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central.
Train services between Stafford and Crewe (via Stoke-on-Trent) will not run and rail replacement buses will operate.
Saturday 28 December
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford, and between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street only (at a reduced level of frequency).
Trains between Birmingham New Street and Crewe will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford only.
Train services between London Euston / Northampton and Crewe will run between London Euston / Northampton and Stafford only. Passengers are advised to travel on Stafford - Crewe (via Stoke-on-Trent) services between Stafford and Crewe, with rail replacement buses operating between Stafford and Crewe after approximately 21:30.
Sunday 29 December
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford, and between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street only.
Trains between Birmingham New Street and Crewe will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford only.
Train services between London Euston / Northampton and Crewe will run between London Euston / Northampton and Stafford only. Passengers are advised to travel on Stafford - Crewe (via Stoke-on-Trent) services between Stafford and Crewe. Rail replacement buses will operate between Crewe and Stafford / Birmingham New Street from 21:15 onwards.
Other service changes:
21:34 Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street service will terminate at Stafford, with a rail replacement bus operating between Stafford and Liverpool Lime Street
23:40 Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe service will not run and a rail replacement bus will operate
Monday 30 December and Tuesday 31 December
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford, and between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street only (at a reduced level of frequency).
Trains between Birmingham New Street and Crewe will run between Birmingham New Street and Stafford only.
Train services between London Euston / Northampton and Crewe will run between London Euston / Northampton and Stafford only. Passengers are advised to travel on Stafford - Crewe (via Stoke-on-Trent) services between Stafford and Crewe. Rail replacement buses will operate between Wolverhampton / Stafford and Crewe from 23:00 onwards.
Other service changes:
05:47 Stafford to Crewe service will not run and a rail replacement bus will operate
21:33 Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street service will terminate at Crewe, with a rail replacement bus operating between Crewe and Birmingham New Street
21:34 Birmingham New Street to Liverpool Lime Street service will terminate at Stafford, with a rail replacement bus operating between Stafford and Liverpool Lime Street
23:33 Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe service will not run and a rail replacement bus will operate
Wednesday 1 January
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Crewe only (to a special timetable based on Sunday service frequency).
Rail replacement buses will operate between Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway.
Passengers are advised to travel on Merseyrail train services between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central.
Thursday 2 January
Train services between Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street will run between Birmingham New Street and Crewe only (at a reduced level of frequency).
Rail replacement buses will operate between Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway.
Passengers are advised to travel on Merseyrail train services between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central.
Rail replacement buses will operate between Wolverhampton / Stafford and Crewe from 23:00 onwards.
East Midlands Railway
Buses will replace trains between Stoke-on-Trent and Crewe on Friday 27 December only. As well as this:
The 07:05 Crewe to Newark Castle will start at Uttoxeter at 07:53, no longer calling at Crewe, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Stoke on Trent, Longton or Blythe Bridge. A connecting rail replacement bus will run between Uttoxeter and Crewe, calling at missing stations
The 21:19 Nottingham to Crewe will terminate at Blythe Bridge, no longer calling at Longton, Stoke on Trent, Kidsgrove, Alsager and Crewe. A connecting rail replacement bus will run between Uttoxeter and Crewe, calling at missing stations
Northern
Buses replace trains between Sandbach and Crewe on Friday 27 December only, this line reopens on Saturday 28 December
Transport for Wales:
Friday 27 December
All Manchester Piccadilly services will start / terminate at Shrewsbury with road replacement transport in place between Shrewsbury and Stockport. Ticket acceptance will be in place at Stockport for passengers wishing to travel to Manchester Piccadilly.
Crewe to Chester / Shrewsbury shuttles are cancelled with road replacement transport in place.
North Wales Coast services will now start / terminate at Chester with road replacement transport between Chester and Crewe.
Saturday 28 December to Tuesday 31 December
Buses will replace trains between Shrewsbury and Crewe.
Northbound services to Manchester Piccadilly will divert via Chester and terminate at Crewe.
Southbound services from Manchester Piccadilly will start at Crewe and divert via Chester.
A shuttle train service will operate between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly all day at the usual times.
CrossCountry
Trains will be diverted and wont call at Crewe on Friday 27 December only.
There are only 2 CrossCountry trains that would normally call at Crewe, these are:
05:11 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth which would call at Crewe at 05:44
07:26 Birmingham New Street to Manchester Piccadilly, which would call at Crewe at 08:26
Check before you travel:
You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner
Replacement Bus Travel Advice:
For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.
You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.
Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.
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