If you are planning to travel to Levitation 2024 by train, be aware that engineering works are scheduled to take place over the Easter weekend (Friday – Monday) and trains will not run between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central.
Forward planning is key to getting round this.
If you’re travelling from London, there is an alternative route. You can take a Chiltern Railway train from Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street (which takes a little over 2 hours). From there, it’s a 6 minute walk or short bus ride to Birmingham New Street where you can get a train to Telford Central.
If you’re travelling from further north on Avanti West Coast, be aware that because of the engineering work there will be fewer trains than usual on routes that normally end up at London Euston. If you’re using one of these routes it’s probably a good idea to make a seat reservation as well as checking that the train you’re planning to catch is actually going to be running.
You can find full details of these engineering works including information about replacement buses and timetable changes on the National Rail website.
Note that it’s only two stops from Shrewsbury (towards Birmingham) if getting to Shrewsbury is easier for you.
(I am travelling on the Thursday/Tuesday and going by bus on my OAP bus pass.)
Never having been to Telford before, I decided to “case the joint” today (a benefit of being retired and having an ex-rail staff pass!). If you’re travelling from the north, if everything is running to schedule (big if!) getting from Crewe to Telford via Shrewsbury may only be about 10 minutes longer than via Wolverhampton – but bear in mind that the Transport for Wales trains that run between Shrewsbury – Telford – Wolverhampton – Birmingham originate from places like Holyhead or Aberystwyth/Pwllheli so they often have delays by the time they get to Shrewsbury; if you’re planning to make a connection at Wolverhampton, allow a bit of leeway! West Midland Trains also run on this route, though they call at more intermediate stations.
Getting from the railway station to the International Centre is pretty straightforward – it’s very well signposted (I only went astray once, due to a building site having hoardings all around it – if you end up beside a multistorey carpark, go back!) and it takes about 15 minutes to walk it (for speed comparisons, I’m late middle-age/early elderly, though I was wearing walking boots at the time). Easiest route, I think is to follow the signs and walk through the Telford Centre (Aldi and B&M on the right before you enter). In the Telford Centre you need to move to the next aisle on the left (I’d suggest following one of the signs to the Flip_something indoor adventure place, and then turning right), You emerge from the Telford Centre next to various eateries such as Bella Pasta, Pizza Express, and the Cineworld – turn left at that corner and you’ll find the Premier Inn on the left and Travelodge on the right, and the International Centre is a couple of minutes further on. Remember there’s another Premier Inn near the railway station, so make sure which one you’ve booked if you’re with them!
Thank you, that is really helpful!
Thanks for the info – really useful!