A 65-Year-Old Bridge Is Rewriting Christmas Trains Out of Euston

Anyone planning to travel between London and the Midlands or the North West over the festive period should check their train before booking anything else. Network Rail has issued an early warning about engineering work on the West Coast Main Line between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, saying passengers to and from London Euston will face timetable changes, closures and rail replacement buses. The centerpiece of the program is the replacement of an ageing bridge, which requires shutting a key section of the route for several days.

The line between Northampton and Rugby via Long Buckby will be closed from Sunday, December 27, 2026, through Friday, January 1, 2027. Engineers will use the closure to replace a 65-year-old bridge deck that carries the railway over the River Nene, installing a new 51-meter deck as part of a scheme worth £9.3 million. Rail replacement buses will run between Northampton and Rugby via Long Buckby while the work is under way, which will add time for travelers who normally connect through these stations.

The disruption stretches beyond that section. Avanti West Coast will run a changed timetable to and from London Euston from December 24 to January 1, and Network Rail says there will be no trains at Birmingham New Street from December 24 to 28 while overhead line work takes place. Other jobs planned for the same window include drainage work at Crick Tunnel and power supply upgrades between North Wembley and Bourne End. Representatives of Network Rail, London Northwestern Railway and Avanti West Coast all urged passengers to plan ahead.

For visitors spending Christmas in Britain, it is worth treating the week between the holidays as a period of reduced rail service on this corridor. If you need to travel between London and Birmingham, Manchester or Liverpool during that week, check the National Rail website or your train operator before you buy tickets, and consider coach services or traveling either side of the closures. Booking with flexible tickets can also help if timetables are adjusted again closer to the date.

Sources: RailUK