Easter weekend travel: What you need to know about road and rail disruption

Euston station will be closed all weekend

With superb weather forecast for much of the UK over Easter, pressure on the transport network is likely to be intense.

These are the key areas where travel problems will arise.

Where are the worst rail problems?

The traditional Easter closures for major engineering work will have the biggest effect on travellers on the West Coast main line. It connects Scotland, the Lake District, North Wales, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham with London Euston.

The last train for four days will leave Euston at 1.34am on Good Friday. After that the terminus, which is the fifth-busiest station in Britain, will be closed until Tuesday 23 April for work related to the High Speed 2 project. Virgin Trains says: “We recommend that you avoid travelling over the Easter weekend.” To try to encourage passengers the company has lifted the normal afternoon peak restrictions for Thursday afternoon.

What arrangements are being made for travellers?

On Friday and Monday, a temporary southern terminus of the West Coast main line for Virgin Trains will be established at the suburban station of Harrow & Wealdstone.

The good news is: it’s 10 miles closer to Birmingham, Manchester, etc, than Euston. The bad news is: there are only four platforms rather than 18 at Euston, and so services are drastically reduced. Scottish services will start and end at Birmingham International. And once your train arrives, your problems are only just beginning.

There is an Underground link to central London, but the Bakerloo line takes an age (Virgin Trains says allow 45 minutes) and your ticket is valid only as far as Paddington – to go any further you need to buy another ticket.

On Easter Saturday and Sunday, the terminus shifts to Milton Keynes Central, where the Tube does not extend. Recommended alternatives include travelling from London King’s Cross via Leeds or from London Marylebone via Birmingham.

From Good Friday to Easter Monday, no trains will serve the main line through the West Midlands between Rugby and Birmingham New Street – leaving Coventry station to be served only by bus replacement services and a rail link on a branch line from Leamington Spa.

Trains between Euston and Coventry normally take an hour; on Good Friday, the journey will take almost three hours.

Further north on the West Coast main line, engineering work is taking place at Lancaster, Carlisle, Rutherglen and Motherwell.

Anywhere else on the railways?

Yes, there are dozens of projects, large and small. Network Rail says: “A 13,800-strong workforce will work around the clock to keep the railway open and deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved facilities and services for passengers.”

London Fenchurch Street will be closed, with trains to south Essex running to nearby Liverpool Street instead.

Also in the capital, some lines through Wimbledon – on the main line southwest from Waterloo to Guildford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Salisbury – will be closed from Good Friday to Easter Monday.

South Western Railways services will be “altered, diverted or cancelled”.

Airline passengers heading to and from Gatwick will face problems on Good Friday and Easter Saturday, when there will be no Gatwick Express services. Travellers can use the line from London Bridge instead.

On the East Midlands network, trains from London St Pancras will not call at Derby. The Thameslink line will also be disconnected at London St Pancras.

The Severn Tunnel connecting London Paddington, Swindon and Bristol Parkway with Newport, Cardiff and Swansea is closed for electrification work from Good Friday to Easter Monday.

The link from Newport via Chepstow to Gloucester is also closed.

Passengers between South Wales and stations to London will spend 45 minutes on a bus between Bristol Parkway and Newport, adding an hour to journey times overall.

On Easter Sunday, the main line from London to Devon and Cornwall will be closed between Westbury and Taunton, with trains diverted and journey times extended.

Trains between Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street will terminate at Hunt’s Cross on Easter Sunday, with buses completing the journey.

Surely with lots of people on the move, this is a ridiculous time to close important parts of the rail network?

Network Rail says: “An independent review in 2016 looking at how the rail industry plans and schedules major improvement work concluded that Christmas, Easter and bank holidays are the best times for upgrades that need major lines to be closed.”

With few commuters, the overall impact is minimised. But of course for occasional travellers trying to reach family gatherings the closures are very trying.

Can buses take the strain instead?

To some extent. But National Express is warning that the “Extinction Rebellion” protest that is blocking key junctions in London means serious disruption on at least nine routes connecting the capital with airports and destinations in the Midlands and north of England.

The Oxford Tube shuttle is disrupted and missing out central London calling points.

These services, as well as Megabus links to and from the capital, are experiencing significant delays due to congestion caused by the climate-change protesters’ road closures.

When and where are the biggest problems on the road network?

According to the RAC, the afternoon and early evening on Thursday; the middle of the day on Friday; and for the few hours around lunchtime on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The M25 is predicted to be the most congested route on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. On Friday, the M6 in Lancashire and western parts of the M62 will be busiest. And on Saturday it’s the A303 through Wiltshire heading for Devon and Cornwall, and the M4 west between the Severn crossing and Cardiff.