No trains running from West Midlands to London this Bank Holiday

No trains will be operating between London Euston and Milton Keynes on Saturday.

It means anyone trying to reach the capital must either take a long diversion via Reading or be prepared to get on a bus replacement service.

The closure will continue on Sunday and into the May Day bank holiday.

Engineers will use the closure to carry out works for the new HS2 line between London and Birmingham. Improvement works will also be carried out to the West Coast Main Line.

It is the second time in weeks that rail travellers have faced disruption, with works also carried out over the Easter weekend.

Further afield, TransPennine Express (TPE), which operates across northern England and into Scotland, urged passengers not to travel this weekend due to a walkout by conductors who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

The firm said it will only run “a very small number of services” on those days.

The industrial action is part of a long-running dispute over pay and rosters. The RMT has said the strike aims to achieve “pay justice for hard-working staff”.

No Southern trains will serve London Victoria over the three-day weekend due to ongoing track and signalling upgrades at the station.

And Stansted Airport is not being served by direct trains from the capital until Monday because of engineering work at Bishops Stortford.

More than 95 per cent of the rail network will be unaffected by the work taking place, according to Network Rail.

The organisation’s chief executive Andrew Haines said: “While the majority of our network will be open for business as usual, we’re asking passengers who are planning to use the railway over the Early May bank holiday to check their journey in advance.

“Teams across Network Rail will be delivering £70 million worth of upgrades, helping to make the railway more reliable and fit for the future.”

UK roads are expected to be quieter than normal for a bank holiday weekend due to Easter being just a fortnight ago, combined with the upcoming half-term break, high fuel prices and forecasts of mild weather.

The RAC said Monday is likely to see the most traffic, with 3.3 million leisure journeys planned.

A survey of 850 motorists indicated that 14 per cent will not plan to make a road journey for a day trip or holiday over the long weekend because of the cost of fuel.

That is compared with just six per cent who did not drive over Easter for the same reason.

Filling a typical 55-litre family car with petrol is nearly £20 more expensive compared with 12 months ago, while the cost of a tank of diesel has risen by more than £25.

The AA predicted that many families will opt for “a relatively inexpensive day in a local park or on the coast”.

It warned that roads could also be busy around shopping centres, homeware stores and garden centres.