Christmas disruption as railway bridge replaced

Train passengers on the West Coast Main Line are being warned of significant disruption over the Christmas period.

Network Rail engineers will replace the deck of the bridge that runs over the River Nene at Long Buckby in Northamptonshire at a cost of £9.3m.

It means no trains will run between Northampton and Rugby via Long Buckby between Sunday 27 December and Friday 1 January, with replacement buses in place.

Other major works include upgrades to power lines around Birmingham New Street, with no trains serving the station between Christmas Eve and Monday 28 December.

Overhead wiring and cabling will also be installed between North Wembley and Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, while track drainage in Crick Tunnel, Northamptonshire, will be improved.

Andy Johnson, project manager at Network Rail, said the organisation had worked with train operators to "minimise disruption".

"[The bridge replacement] will make the structure more resilient, improve safety and help make journeys more reliable," Johnson added.

The existing bridge deck will be removed and replaced with a new structure that Network Rail said would improve drainage and protect the bridge from river erosion.

As part of the works, sleepers, 400m (1,132ft) of rail, and 720 tonnes of ballast will also be removed and reinstalled.

The bridge deck is 65 years' old, Network Rail has said.

Work already began in November to install foundations and stanchions in preparation for the Christmas project.

Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway will be operating an amended timetable to and from London Euston from Sunday 27 December 2026 up to and including Sunday 3 January 2027.

Anyone making journeys on the West Coast Main Line from Christmas Eve onwards is advised to check before they travel on the National Rail website.

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