May bank holiday engineering works

We’ve planned essential engineering works over the May bank holiday weekends.

Work will take place from Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May 2026. Some train services will be affected during this time, so be in the know before you go. Visit National Rail or your train operator’s website for the latest travel information.

We will deliver a £140.5m investment programme across both May Bank Holiday weekends consisting of 568 projects to improve reliability.

Projects planned for the Late May Bank Holiday includes (but is not limited to)

Late May Bank Holiday (Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May)

East Coast Main Line

Work continues on rebuilding a junction at Tollerton on the East Coast Main Line in North Yorkshire, so buses will again replace trains between York and Darlington between Saturday and Monday, with a limited train service from Northallerton to Darlington. Trains restart on Tuesday 26 May.

Transpennine

As above, work continues between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

Great Western Main Line

Work gets underway on a two-week programme of improvements to the Severn Tunnel’s power supply and track around Patchway and Filton. The work will improve reliability for passengers and cutting disruptive maintenance needed in the area, as well as being a key enabler for new passenger services between Bristol and Henbury.

Buses replace trains between Newport and Bristol Parkway with one through train an hour between South Wales and London via Gloucester from Saturday 23 May until Sunday 7 June, with normal services resuming on Monday 8 June.

Thameslink

Improvements to signalling and telecommunications equipment in the Thameslink “core” between Finsbury Park, St Pancras and Blackfriars means Thameslink trains from the north of London will start and end their journeys at Kings Cross and St Pancras and services from the South will start and end their journeys at London Bridge.