In what is believed to be a bank holiday weekend first, trains are replacing rail replacement buses on a key stretch of the West Coast main line.
Network Rail is telling passengers hoping to travel between Birmingham New Street and International station, serving the city’s airport: “From Saturday 23 to Monday 25 August, due to track renewals at Garrison Street and Tyseley, rail replacement buses will be in place between Birmingham International and Birmingham New Street.”
Signs are in place on the concourse at New Street station, the key rail hub outside London, pointing to the stop for the buses.
But The Independent has conducted a sweep of the area and found no rail replacement buses – while trains are running normally on the eight-mile stretch of track between New Street and International.
Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and Transport for Wales are all operating on the link, though with slightly reduced services due to engineering work between the Midlands and London.
On the 9.36am departure from New Street to International, most seats were filled – suggesting passengers are ignoring the Network Rail announcement. The journey took nine minutes as usual – compared with 35 minutes according to the rail replacement bus schedule.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We apologise for the confusion caused by an error in our earlier press release, which incorrectly stated that rail replacement services would begin on Saturday 23 August.
“The services will actually start on Sunday 24 August.”
Birmingham New Street is much quieter than usual on Saturday because no CrossCountry trains are running.
The intercity operator normally connects stations in England, Wales and Scotland through its hub in Birmingham. But members of the RMT union have walked out in a dispute about staffing, safety, and pay.
Although CrossCountry staff are not striking on Sunday, many cancellations are expected.
On bank holiday Monday, “a very limited CrossCountry service will operate between 8am and 6pm only”.
No CrossCountry trains will run between Birmingham New Street, Reading and the south coast, or on the link from Leicester via Cambridge to Stansted airport. “There will only be a very limited service to the south west and north of York,” passengers are warned. “Trains that do run are expected to be busy.”
Elsewhere, the southernmost 75 miles of the East Coast main line will be closed from 8pm on Saturday to 8am on bank holiday Monday due to engineering work. No trains will run between London King's Cross and Peterborough. Travellers between the capital and Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland are advised to travel from London St Pancras International to Bedford for a rail replacement bus.
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