Rail passengers set for delays across West Midlands network due to industrial action and engineering works
Rail passengers are set to face another day of disruption across the region due to essential track work and industrial action.
Journeys through Birmingham will continue to be severely impacted due to the essential track work and industrial action by RMT members at CrossCountry.
Network Rail's work to invest £600,000 upgrading 450 metres of tightly curved track which connects the Camp Hill line with the main line between Birmingham and Coventry will be completed today, having begun at the weekend.
It has seen changes to routes operated by CrossCountry, which has already been running a much-reduced timetable, as well as West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Avanti West Coast and Transport for Wales.
Rail Replacement bus services are currently running between Birmingham New Street and Birmingham International and between Coleshill Parkway and Birmingham New Street.
Additionally, the strike action by RMT members at CrossCountry means that while services are running between Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Stafford during Monday, they will only run every hour, while there will be no CrossCountry service between Birmingham, Reading and the South Coast.
Jonny Wiseman, customer experience director at West Midlands Railway, said: “We are grateful for our passengers’ patience while Network Rail carries out essential upgrades.
"We’ll be running rail replacement buses between Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street to keep our customers moving.
"Please check before you travel and allow extra time for your journeys.”
A spokesman for CrossCountry said: "A very limited CrossCountry service will operate between 8am and 6pm, and passengers are advised to check their journey carefully and expect all services to be busy.
"However, there will be no CrossCountry service between Birmingham, Reading and the South Coast, and no service between Leicester, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
"There will only be a very limited service to the South West and north of York.
"Additionally, planned engineering work in the West Midlands will also impact the CrossCountry services that do run, meaning some journeys will take longer."
