Track upgrades and CrossCountry strikes this August bank holiday

Journeys through Birmingham will be severely impacted this Bank Holiday due to essential track work and industrial action by CrossCountry.

Network Rail's long-planned work to invest £600,000 upgrading 450 metres of tightly curved track which connects the Camp Hill line with the main line between Birmingham and Coventry will take place on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August.

It will see changes to routes operated by CrossCountry - which will already be running a much-reduced timetable - as well as West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales.

On those two days fewer trains will run as a result, and those running will be diverted while others will be served by rail replacement bus as follows:

• All services between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International
• CrossCountry services between Coleshill Parkway and Birmingham New Street

The recently announced strike action by staff at CrossCountry will impact other journeys over the bank holiday weekend - for more information click here - and CrossCountry is advising its passengers to not travel on Saturday 23 August and travel either side of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Birmingham Weekender festival, and home matches for Birmingham City, Coventry City, West Bromwich Albion, Solihull Moors, and Walsall, means many trains and stations in the West Midlands are expected to be extra busy on Saturday 23 August.

To help passengers, from Thursday (21 August), Birmingham New Street will:

• have extra staff on hand throughout the station
• be ready to introduce a queuing system if needed to keep people safe while waiting to board trains
• provide extra information and announcements to keep everyone informed with the latest information

Elizabeth Graham, Birmingham New Street station manager, said: “The combination of long-planned major track upgrades and recently announced industrial action by CrossCountry means the station and trains will be extra busy this weekend, with many journeys impacted.

“The scale and location of the track renewal means fewer trains will run between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August, with some bus replacements in place.

"The strike means many CrossCountry services won't run and other trains will be extra busy. We will do all we can to help passengers, but I'd urge everyone to plan ahead, check before they travel, and follow the latest advice from CrossCountry if you are planning to use those services.”

Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at West Midlands Railway, said: “We are grateful for our passengers’ patience while Network Rail carries out essential upgrades this Bank Holiday weekend. We’ll be running rail replacement buses between Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street to keep our customers moving. Please check before you travel and allow extra time for your journeys.”

The Camp Hill line track renewal is a continuation of work which took place on an adjacent section of the curve last Christmas.

This work is part of a multi-million-pound investment which will see three new stations opening on the route serving communities in Moseley, Kings Heath and Stirchley.

Passengers are being advised to check before they travel and plan ahead by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk.

For more information on how Network Rail maintains and manages the railway you can visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/railway-upgrade-plan/