Commuters face Easter weekend of rail misery
VICTORIA WILL BE SHUT DURING EASTER WEEKEND AS VITAL WORK IS CARRIED OUT
MANCHESTER Victoria station is set to be closed for four days over Easter.
Rail passengers will be hit by disruption as work to electrify routes is carried out.
Northern Rail is yet to finalise timetables showing exactly what the changes will be, but all services that would normally call at the station will be affected.
Those include Bolton to Manchester and the airport, Manchester to Blackburn, Stalybridge and Huddersfield, and Leeds to Manchester via Bradford.
Victoria will close at the end of the day on Thursday, March 29 before reopening on Tuesday, April 3.
Train operators are asking customers to plan for Easter journeys. Rail replacement buses will be put on.
The works are part of the ‘Great North Rail Project’ to electrify routes.
Engineers will be around platforms five and six to lower and realign tracks under Cheetham Hill road bridge.
That will mean trains will be unable to access – or leave – the station.
Liam Sumpter, regional director for Northern, said: “The work at Victoria is an integral part of the Great North Rail Project and will help pave the way for our own modernisation which, by 2020, will see new and refurbished Northern trains operated more services than ever before.
“Whilst important, this engineering work will cause disruption for our customers and it is vital they start to plan ahead for what is traditionally a busy travel weekend.”
He added: “We are currently working on developing the full timetables for the Easter weekend, and will share these as soon as we have them.”
Northern will operate rail replacement buses on most routes, whilst local bus services and the Metrolink will continue as normal.
Kathryn O’Brien, customer experience director for TransPennine Express, added: “The work taking place over Easter will create improvements for rail customers across the north.
“It will mean changes to our services between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria and customers are advised to plan their journeys in advance and check before they travel.
“Detailed information on the changes will be added to our website shortly.”
The station building will remain open over Easter.