May Bank Holidays Travel Summary

Please check before you travel during the May Bank Holiday weekends

The Early May Bank Holiday weekend covered by this guide runs from Saturday 2 May until Bank Holiday Monday 4 May inclusive.

The Late May (also known as Spring) Bank Holiday weekend covered by this guide runs from Saturday 23 May until Bank Holiday Monday 25 May inclusive.

There will be lots of planned essential engineering works and upgrades taking place as Network Rail works to improve the railway. In addition, some train companies will be making changes to their timetable, and to some train times, to match services to the number of customers travelling.

Planning and checking your journey

You can plan and check your journey before you travel using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner. Important information and useful travel advice relating to your journey may show with symbols on your journey results.

Please note that Journey Planner information is subject to change as timetables are still being finalised. Please continue to check your journey until you are due to set off – this will give you a chance to adjust your journey plans in advance if necessary, and avoid any last-minute disappointment.

Please check our Status and Disruptions page for up-to-date real-time information.

Find out more about your rights if a train journey is delayed or cancelled.

Major improvement work on your railway during the May Bank Holiday weekends

A considerable number of engineering and improvement projects will be undertaken during the May Bank Holiday weekends. The biggest works taking place during the Early May bank holiday weekend (2 to 4 May) are:

London Euston: Due to reduced line capacity, an amended train service will be running to and from London Euston from Saturday 2 May to Monday 4 May inclusive. Please use the journey planner to check how this will affect your travel plans.

Liverpool Lime Street: All day on Sunday 3 May, and continuing on the morning of Monday 4 May, the main lines between Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway / Huyton will be closed for major improvement work. Only Merseyrail will be running trains to and from Liverpool Lime Street station during this time.

York - Darlington: The East Coast Main Line will be closed between York and Northallerton from Saturday 2 May to Monday 4 May inclusive. As a result, your journey is likely to involve using rail replacement transport if travelling between York and Darlington.

The biggest works taking place during the Late May (Spring) bank holiday weekend (23 to 25 May) will be published here when available.

Please visit our Status and Disruptions pages where you will be able to find details of all the engineering works for the Early May and Late May bank holiday weekends.

May Bank Holiday changes being made by your train company

​​​​​​​Details of the service each train company will be providing over the bank holiday weekends will be available shortly via the links listed below. These page links are currently showing information for the Easter bank holiday period:

• Avanti West Coast

• c2c

• Caledonian Sleeper

• Chiltern Railways

• CrossCountry

• East Midlands Railway

• Elizabeth line

• Gatwick Express

• Grand Central

• Great Northern

• Great Western Railway

• Greater Anglia

• Heathrow Express

• Hull Trains

• Island Line

• LNER

• London Northwestern Railway

• London Overground

• Lumo

• Merseyrail

• Northern

• ScotRail

• South Western Railway

• Southeastern

• Southern

• Stansted Express

• Thameslink

• TransPennine Express

• Transport for Wales

• West Midlands Railway

Travel by Train to the Airport at Bank Holidays

Getting to the airport can often be the most stressful part of your trip, but it doesn’t have to be. Opt for the smart way to start your journey: travel by train. Whether you’re jetting off on business or embarking on a long-awaited holiday, the rail network offers regular connections to London airports and many major British airports.

Britain’s airports are expected to be especially busy at the bank holiday weekends. To help you with your travel plans we have produced a guide, Travel by Train to the Airport on Bank Holidays, for getting to and from your chosen airport. It contains details of any service changes and engineering work that may affect your arrangements for getting to Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport, London Luton Airport and Manchester Airport.

Social media

For the latest rail travel news, why not follow National Rail on X? Over 1 million people follow @nationalrailenq on X. Our social media team are available 24/7 over the bank holiday weekend to answer your rail queries and supply you with the latest real-time travel updates.