Eurovision fans furious as Liverpool trains hit by major works

After scrambling to buy tickets to this year’s Eurovision, fans of the competition now face a second challenge: major engineering work on the train routes linking Liverpool and London.

The work is expected to affect Avanti West Coast trains – the company that operates services from London to Liverpool and Manchester via Birmingham – on May 13-14.

Network Rail said planned engineering work will also affect the London Western Railway, which operates between London Euston, Birmingham and Crewe and parts of the London Overground from Euston and Watford Junction.

The news has left hopeful entrants in the competition, which runs from May 9 through May 13 finals, in a state of confusion, with massive delays possible. Many people have said the work should have been planned more carefully.

A Network Rail spokesman told PinkNews: “Construction work has been automatically flagged but there will be an hourly train service from London to Liverpool over the Eurovision weekend.

“However, engineering work in London and at Kilburn will mean some changes to Euston and TfL (Transport for London) rail services so please find out before you travel.”

Liverpool has been named the home of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in 2022. Although Ukraine won this year’s competition, giving it the right to host the 2023 event, the country’s war with Russia meant Britain became the host nation due to Sam Ryder’s second-place finish.

The event takes place at the Liverpool Arena, which has a capacity of 11,000.

Tickets went on sale on Tuesday (March 7) and sold out in record time, with many stuck on the ticket pages trying to snag a coveted seat.

“Surely that’s a stupid decision?”

Now, fans fearing major delays are inevitable have criticized National Rail’s decision to plan major improvements during such a busy time.

A person wrote: “National Rail announces construction work on Avanti West Coast and North Western Railway #EM Weekend. Surely that’s a stupid decision?”

Another person said: “I think it’s incredibly stupid to be doing maintenance on behalf of the track during Eurovision week lol.”

Some even go so far as to joke that the move is about “hate crime London gays”.