22 Dec 2025 – Upcoming works to replace Hanslope Junction, which will mean no trains between Rugby and Milton Keynes/Northampton on these days: 24 Dec (evening) to 05 Jan inclusive, then Sundays 11 Jan and 25 Jan. More detail here

22 Dec 2025 – details from the iMechE talk on Evero trains and the Northumberland Line – the slides are here and the recording of the Northumberland talk is here

04 Dec 2025 – (advance notice) – IMechE talk in Rugby on Thursday 4th December. Subject: Northumberland Line – lessons learned from transforming connectivity in the North East. Start time 1800 for 1830, details here

17 Nov 2025 – Christmas shutdown – no trains from Rugby to London between Christmas and 4 January. Replacement buses running Northampton – Milton Keynes. If you are travelling to London, suggest you go with Chiltern Railways from either Leamington Spa or Warwick Parkway to Marylebone. There will be two trains an hour on this route, with some trains having more carriages than normal.

08 Nov 2025 – a further update from HS2, there will be a 50-mile test section as a priority, including Warwickshire (no stations in Warks) – details here

14 Oct 2025 – there is an update from HS2 – but no impact on Rugby train services for many years – details here

22 Sep 2025 – RRUG representatives attended the Avanti West Coast stakeholder conference – there were no surprises for us – details here

28 Aug 2025 – there is an upcoming iMechE talk on the Avanti Evero trains (class 805/807) introduction, on September 11th at 1800 in the Benn Hall, Rugby. Details here, free to attend.

22 August 2025 – a new bus service for Rugby station will commence on Saturday 30 August. Numbered 8B, it will run from Long Lawford via Technology Drive, Rugby station and Rugby town centre to Overslade. This service will run every hour on Mondays to Saturdays only.

27 Jun 2025 – A derailment near Bletchley caused huge disruption on Thursday 26th June. Two lines are still closed near Bletchley today, Friday. Check here for the latest information.

02 Jun 2025 – A new direct train service from Rugby to North Wales commenced today. It leaves Rugby at 0853 Monday-Friday, goes non-stop to Crewe, then stops at Chester and along the North Wales coast before finally arriving at Holyhead at 1144. 

The summer timetable at Rugby station was due to start on Sunday 18th May, but the main line from Rugby to Stafford has been closed for major works during the half term week commencing 24th May, so the start of the new service to Holyhead was put off until the main line reopened on Monday 2nd June. Unfortunately, this work did not finish on time, so the inaugural 0853 to Holyhead was 22 minutes late and was subject to a last minute platform change, which is not a good start. By the time the train got to Crewe, it was 30 minutes late. We hope that things improve.

29 May 2025 – the first of the new class 730/2 trains will enter passenger service on 9 June between Euston and Milton Keynes. These trains are eventually destined for the Euston – Crewe and Birmingham – Liverpool services.

20 May 2025 – the Trent Valley line will be closed for nine days from 24 May to 01 Jun – details here

02 May 2025 – Euston station is closed on Sunday and Monday 4th & 5th of May, all trains will terminate at Milton Keynes – details here

02 May 2025 – Coventry City Council is taking bookings for a test trip on the new very light rail vehicle – here

21 Apr 2025 – today, Easter Monday, is the last day of the three day line closure between Euston and Milton Keynes, details here. We hope that everything will be in order for tomorrow, Tuesday.

13 Mar 2025 – further strike action called off – strikes on all Sundays up to May 2025 have been called off. More details here

28 Feb 2025 – Strike action called off – strike action for Avanti West Coast on Sundays from 2 to 16 March inclusive has been called off. More details here

27 Feb 2025 – Fares advice from the Campaign for Better Transport: “This Sunday (2nd March), we’ll see regulated rail fares rise by 4.6 per cent. This is the annual increase which used to happen in January, but for the last few years has been postponed until March. We think fares are already too high and the blunt tool of an annual fare rise is something that we want to see addressed as part of the Government’s fare reforms.

This year, for the first time in ten years, railcards will also be seeing an increase. From Sunday, railcards will cost between £5 and £10 more, but, as we explain in our latest blog, you might be able to avoid the increase if you act quickly”.

14 Feb 2025 – Avanti has advised us that the planned strikes for 16 and 23 February, and 2 March have been called off, so a normal Sunday service will operate on these dates – more details can be found here

06 Feb 2025 – the landslip at Polesworth has been fixed this morning, so trains from the north can call at Atherstone once more – details here

23 Jan 2025 – there is a “do not travel” warning for travel north of Preston and in North Wales for Friday 24th Jan, due to bad weather – details here

10 Jan 2025 – An update on the landslip at Polesworth, which is delaying/disrupting southbound trains from Manchester and Crewe. This was originally estimated to be fixed by 10th January, but disruption is now expected “until further notice”, not good. No southbound trains can call at Atherstone. Details here.

18 Dec 2024 – new Train Manager industrial action has been announced for 31 Dec, 02 Jan and all Sundays – details here

15 Dec 2024 – a new timetable started today, there are minor changes at Rugby

13 Dec 2024 – the Train Manager industrial action planned for Avanti services in December has been called off

10 Dec 2024 – Avanti has published Train Manager industrial action dates for 22, 23, 29 December here

20 Nov 2024 – the 1406 from Rugby to Liverpool is run using the new 7 coach Evero units, it runs non-stop to Runcorn.

19 Nov 2024 – following the hacking attack on the RRUG website, a new website has been launched today

19 Sep 2024 – RRUG attended the Avanti West Coast Stakeholder Conference in Liverpool. Good to hear the plans for HS2 operation, even if it is some way off. Details here.

21 Aug 2024 – RRUG had an initial meeting with Rugby’s new MP, John Slinger