Over 95% of the railway network will be open for business this Christmas and New Year but more than £130 million of major investment projects mean it will be important to plan ahead, says Network Rail.
The group has warned that improvements are taking place after Christmas Day and into the New Year are a bridge replacement over the M6 – closing the West Coast Main Line between Preston and Carlisle as well as the road – and work on the lines between Leeds and York, around Cambridge, London Victoria and London Waterloo too.
Journey planners will give the best routes for passengers’ journeys during the period but booking ahead is essential as some lines will be very busy, it said.
Impacted routes
Christmas and New Year engineering work follows the introduction of a new timetable this December, with changes across the network, including the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – the biggest change on the route in more than a decade.
Some of the planned works over the festive period include:
- Replacing a junction at Hanslope on the West Coast Main Line means no trains between Milton Keynes and Rugby between Christmas Day and 5 January.
- Replacing a 1960s bridge over the M6 motorway means no trains between Preston and Carlisle, 31 December- 15 January
- Installing new signalling at Kingmoor, just north of Carlisle means no trains between Carlisle and Lockerbie from 1 January and 7 January
- Improvements by the Transpennine Route Upgrade around Church Fenton, Yorkshire, including signalling, track and power supply, means no trains between Leeds and York between Christmas Day and 2 January.
- Commissioning and testing a new signalling system to improve reliability and safety means no trains between Cambridge North, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Stansted Airport from Christmas Day until 5 January.
- Engineering work within Bishopsgate tunnel and work to refurbish the roof of London Liverpool Street station means no trains between Stratford and Liverpool St from Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
- Renewal of worn out track and points around Queenstown Road, London, means no trains to or from Waterloo from Christmas Day until 28 December ,and a very limited service to Waterloo until 4 January.
- The installation of a new railway bridge at Bowling in West Dunbartonshire means no trains between Dalmuir and Balloch/Helensburgh Central, or between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich, 24 December – 2 January.
“The period between Christmas and New Year is the quietest on the railway and it’s the best time for us to do the major projects that will take longer than a night or a weekend to complete,” said Network Rail’s Chief Network Operator Helen Hamlin.
“We work with train operators to organise diversions and rail replacement buses for passengers who are travelling but it’s still so important to plan ahead. That’s especially the case this year as we have some very big plans for improving the railway that will mean people may have to travel home on different routes after Christmas than the way they travelled out.
“Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding and for planning ahead.”
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