Warning of six months of Lichfield rail disruption

The work to replace platform 3 at Lichfield Trent Valley will take six months, to avoid disruption on the West Coast Main Line

Rail passengers are being warned of disruption over six months to services in Lichfield as a station platform is completely rebuilt.

Platform 3 at Lichfield Trent Valley will be demolished over nine days from 15 July, Network Rail said.

During the demolition, the West Coast Main Line will be fully closed with services stopping in Sutton Coldfield.

Replacing the platform will not happen until December, the organisation added.

The gap in time is aimed at reducing disruption until the traditional Christmas railway shutdown, a spokesperson said.

West Midlands Railway services will not run to the station until 27 December, with a replacement bus from Lichfield City station.

Platform 3 is directly above the two platforms on the West Coast Main Line which is one of the busiest railways in Europe, project manager Cathleen Meehan said.

The £5.8m scheme should make journeys more reliable in the future, she added.