Holiday weekend of delays on the trains

Bank holiday rail travellers face delays and replacement bus services as more than 1,000 miles of routes are disrupted by engineering work.

Passengers travelling to London Euston from Wolverhampton or Birmingham New Street this weekend will be diverted on to buses between Coventry and Northampton on Saturday and Sunday as Network Rail carries out routine maintenance work. And most Virgin Trains services will also start and end at Birmingham International.

Passengers from the Black Country will have to rely on local London Mid-land services .

A limited Virgin Trains service will run between Euston, Coventry and Birmingham International via High Wycombe as buses replace trains between Milton Keynes and Birmingham International.

From Saturday until Monday evening, fewer trains will run between Euston and Northampton, with some services terminating at Northampton.

Stafford passengers on Virgin may be affected by alterations.

Kevin Chapman, of the West Midlands Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Bank Holidays are quieter so I understand why they have chosen this time, but we believe there should be better planning to allow for more routes to be diverted instead of resorting to buses.

"People have paid higher fares to use the trains and there should be some form of recompense for passengers who have been affected."

Mavis Choong, of Net-work Rail, said: "More than 3,500 more trains are running over this August Bank Holiday compared to last year and 95 per cent of the network is open for business as usual.

"Heavy investment is going into improving Brit-ain's railways. The biggest pieces of work we have to do are best completed during the quieter times for travel."

A £9 billion improvement of the West Coast Main Line finished last December, but engineering works have continued over public holidays.

Trafficmaster experts predict a 30 per cent rise in road congestion on holiday routes.