Bank Holidays in England are always an opportunity for major rail improvement projects to be done while the commuters are resting their tired old bodies - but it makes for great disruption for folk who want a day out to the seaside and tourists.
This August Bank Holiday is no exception, and there are some really very disruptive plans in place. So here you go.
As Network Rail says in its typical understated way:
As part of the national Railway Upgrade Plan major work is being
undertaken on some of the country’s largest infrastructure projects
this August and over the August bank holiday (26 – 28 August).The following major engineering works will take place over the August
bank holiday:As part of the Thameslink Programme, no trains will run
to or from London Charing Cross and London Cannon StreetPreparatory work for High Speed Two (HS2) takes place at London Euston, with no
trains running to or from the station on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 AugustCrossrail work will continue, with no trains between London
Liverpool Street and Shenfield / Ingatestone / Billericay / Barking on
Sunday 27 and Monday 28 AugustAs part of the Wessex improvement
programme, some platforms at London Waterloo will be closed, resulting
in an amended South West Trains service from Saturday 5 to Sunday 28
AugustElectrification work on the Great Western Mainline continues in
the Bristol Parkway area, affecting services between Wales and London
Paddington from Saturday 19 August to Sunday 17 September
So -
For London Euston and the lower part of the West Coast Main Line, there will be no service on Virgin trains south of Rugby or Milton Keynes, and local London Midland trains will not operate between Euston and Milton Keynes on both 26 and 27 August. Note that you won't be able to get to Watford Junction for Harry Potter by train during this time.
London Waterloo (used by many here to reach Hampton Court Palace and Portsmouth) will have service restrictions for most of the month of August - the 5th to the 28th.
London Bridge and Cannon Street (Thameslink goes through London Bridge, as do trains to Greenwich and some to inner Kent) will have service restrictions from 26th August through 2nd September.
Charing Cross and Waterloo East for Greenwich, Surrey and Kent, no rail services at all from 26 August to 2 September.
London Liverpool Street will have service disruptions from 26 to 28 August. For Cambridge use the services at London Kings Cross.
London Paddington which is used by all sorts of folks on this Forum to go all sorts of places, including the Heathrow Express, will have service restrictions all the way from the 19th of August through the first of September.
If you will be on the train during this time you are strongly advised to check and check again for any disruption. Use the official Network Rail webpage and search on your train operator. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/august
Note that if there are any more strikes on Southern, Merseyrail or Northern during this period I will update this thread as well.
Forewarned is forearmed, as I like to say.