Rail network shutdowns over Christmas holiday

UK train passengers are facing the prospect of travel problems over the upcoming Christmas holiday, as extensive sections of the British rail network are shutdown for repairs.

The rail service is feeling the pressure from last year’s holiday shutdown, when engineering work, particularly in the Midlands and London, ran over schedule by as many as five days in some instances.

The punishment for the disruptions caused to an estimated 200,000 passengers was a £14 million fine. The majority of the disruptions, including cancellations, service delays and replacement buses, were on the West Coast Main Line.

A series of deadlines were missed by Network Rail on an important section of the West Coast Main Line, upsetting ministers, passenger groups and the operator, Virgin Trains. Also failing to reopen following the holiday engineering work was Liverpool Street station, which is operated by One Railway.

This holiday season, all rail services nationwide and the London Underground will be closed on Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day, services will run on a much-reduced scheduled. On Saturday, 27 December, first trains will start later in the morning.

A number of major networks will also be shut down for the weekend as well.

www.networkrail.co.uk