Network Rail has revealed its schedule of vital West Coast main-line engineering upgrades this spring, to make the railway more reliable and improve journeys.

The key weekends of the Railway Upgrade Plan work, all agreed with train companies, are as follows: 10-13 April (Easter weekend); 2-3 May; 9-10 May (after VE Day Bank Holiday Friday); 23-25 May (late May Bank Holiday); and 10 weekends of work between Carstairs and the border in Scotland (Saturday 4 April to Sunday 7 June).

Tim Shoveller, managing director of Network Rail’s North West and Central region (www.networkrail.co.uk), said: “There is never a perfect time to close parts of the railway to make improvements, but Bank Holidays and weekends are the quietest times, when the smallest number of people use the railway.

"We work closely with our industry colleagues to get as much work done as possible during the closures and minimise their impact on people’s journeys.

"Network Rail has also re-organised our Railway Upgrade Plan improvements to keep trains running for this year’s VE Day commemorations.”