Works will cancel trains over Jubilee weekend

Train services in the West Midlands will be cancelled and replaced with buses over the Queen's Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.

Services between Wolverhampton, Stafford and Birmingham will be affected due to engineering work and replacement bus services will be brought in as a result.

This will add an extra 90 minutes journey time for people travelling down to London for the Jubilee celebrations. The engineering works on the West Coast Mainline, which is the busiest route in the country, will take place over the Saturday and Sunday of the extended Bank Holiday weekend at the start of June.

Network Rail spokesman Keith Lumley said work was usually carried out on Bank Holidays because it caused the least disruption to passengers.

"Rather than break it down over separate weekends, we prefer to get the work done in one big hit," he said today. This is effectively our only opportunity to get this work done before the Olympics and Paralympics. We have made a pledge that no work will take place during the Games, which means nothing for July, August and September."

Some journey times on the West Coast Mainline will be trebled due to the work.

The first departure from Carlisle to Wolverhampton will involve a bus to Appleby and trains via Leeds and Birmingham meaning the usual two-and-a-half hour journey will take seven and a half hours.

Meanwhile signalling problems at Wolverhampton station caused delays of up to 20 minutes today. London Midland, Virgin Trains, CrossCountry, and Arriva services between Birmingham New Street were affected from 6am to 7am.