Royal Wedding Day and May Bank Holiday Weekend on Virgin Trains

LONDON, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- There will be alterations to services over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend because of route improvement work but the day of the Royal Wedding (Friday 29 April) will see a normal weekday service in operation. Time restrictions on the use of Off Peak tickets will be lifted between Friday 29 April and Monday 2 May inclusive.

On the Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 30 April 1, 2 May of the holiday weekend there will be work taking place at various times between Euston and Rugby, Wigan and Warrington, Oxenholme and Glasgow/Edinburgh and in the Stafford station area. All route improvement work is scheduled to be completed by 12:00 on Monday 2nd May.

Friday 29 April - Royal Wedding Day

A normal weekday service will be in operation. The full weekday First Class catering offer will be available including a serving of sparkling celebration wine. Standard class customers can upgrade to first class for GBP25.00 per person per single journey, under 16's GBP5.00. Upgrades can be purchased on the train or at ticket offices before boarding.

Saturday, 30 April

Because of route improvement work between Wigan and Warrington and between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh services from London Euston to Glasgow Central will terminate at Crewe and services from Birmingham to Glasgow/Edinburgh will be diverted via Manchester and terminate at Preston. There will be an hourly train shuttle service between Preston and Carlisle, together with a two hourly train shuttle service from Carlisle to Glasgow Central diverted via an alternative route. Rail replacement coach services will serve Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western stations and will run between Carlisle and Edinburgh Waverley.

Sunday 1 May

Because of route improvement work between Rugby and Euston services from the Midlands and North West will terminate and start back from Rugby and include calls at either Nuneaton or Coventry. The hourly West Coast Replacement Shuttle will operate in both directions from Nuneaton and Coventry direct to London Euston via an alternative route through Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Trains serving North Wales and Chester will only run between Holyhead and Crewe where connections can be made to and from London Euston changing at Nuneaton. A replacement coach service will run between Milton Keynes and Rugby until 12:00 after which local journeys will be covered by a train service operated by London Midland

Trains will be unable to call at Stafford until 12:00 to enable Network Rail to carry out essential maintenance at this key rail junction. A replacement coach service will run from Stafford to both Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton.

Because of route improvement work between Warrington and Wigan and between Oxenholme and Glasgow/Edinburgh most services from the South to Glasgow Central will terminate at Crewe although a limited service of trains will run through to Wigan and Preston using an alternative route. There will be an hourly train shuttle service between Wigan and Oxenholme. Rail replacement coach services will serve Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western stations and at certain times will run direct between Crewe and Preston. There will also be replacement coach services between Oxenholme and Carlisle and between Carlisle and Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley.

Bank Holiday Monday 2 May

Because of route improvement work between Watford Junction and Rugby until 12:00 involving the closure of two out of the normal four lines, Euston to Birmingham/Wolverhampton and Euston to Manchester services will be reduced to two services per hour instead of the normal three per hour that would normally operate over these two routes. Also, until 12:00 most London Euston to Holyhead services will run between Crewe and Holyhead only.

For further information passengers should visit nationalrail.co.uk or telephone 08457-484950.

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