Travelling by train this festive period could be particularly difficult with some of the UK’s busiest stations set to be closed.
This year’s Christmas will be the first festive period since 2019 where train travellers won’t have to put up with Covid travel restrictions or rail strikes.
But that doesn’t mean everything is going to be plain sailing, as some of the country’s major stations and most popular routes will be closed due to engineering work.
Here’s Metro’s list of all the stations and lines which won’t be open his Christmas, to make your upcoming journey as smooth as possible.
London Liverpool Street
The UK’s busiest railway station, London Liverpool Street, will be closed for eight days this festive period.
Network Rail has confirmed the news, noting that the station will be closed from Christmas Day until January 2 due to engineering works.
It means delays and cancellations for people looking to visit loved ones or return home following festive celebrations.
The station closure means Greater Anglia trains – including the Stansted Express – will be diverted via Stratford, which will be used as the train company’s London terminus.
People will be able to change onto the Central line or Jubilee line at Stratford to reach central London.
London Overground services in the area will start and terminate at London Fields instead – including ones from Chingford that don’t usually stop at London Fields.
There are likely to be less Overground services as well – two per hour to Chingford and one per hour to Enfield Town and Cheshunt.
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People in this area are advised to use Victoria line train services from Walthamstow Central and Seven Sisters or local bus routes.
London Paddington
The famous London Paddington is too set to be closed for a period this Christmas.
Engineering work means the station will be shut for three days between December 27 and 29.
That spells bad news for those trying to travel from the capital to the West Country, with trains from south Wales and Bristol usually terminating at Paddington.
Great Western Railway have announced plans to divert its long-distance trains Cornwall, Devon and Wales into Euston during this period.
London St Pancras
St Pancras, the country’s eighth busiest train station, will see certain routes affected due to construction work this Christmas.
No trains will run on the Midland Main Line north from the station to Luton, Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield between December 21 and December 29.
Intercity journeys in and out of the capital during this period will take an hour longer than usual.
And the Thameslink line will be effected, with no trains set to run between St Pancras and Harpenden.
The closure of St Pancras is set to see London Euston become extremely busy, particularly due to the added closures at Paddington and Liverpool Street.
Cambridge
Cambridge railway station is also set to undergo engineering works, meaning it will be closed between Christmas Day and January 5, 2025.
Network Rail said the closure is to: ‘Support the continuing construction of Cambridge South station, and also deliver the first stage of the signalling the renewal programme of the Cambridge area.’
There will be no trains running on the link from Cambridge to Royson, Audley End, Cambridge North or Bury St Edmunds from December 24 to December 31, with Thameslink and Great Northern trains also effected.
West Coast main line
The Avanti West Coast service this Christmas will also be effected by closures.
Crewe, one of the UK’s interchange stations, will see no trains run through it on December 27, and far less trains than usual up until January 5 due to resignalling work.
Avanti West Coast services in the north of England to Preston, Glasgow and Edinburgh are to be diverted through Manchester, meaning journey-times will increase.
Links from London Euston to Birmingham and Manchester will be reduced from three to two per hour.
On Friday December 27, after a two-day shutdown, there will be no Liverpool Lime Street services on Avanti West Coast too.
And on New Year’s Day, the Milton Keynes Central to Rugby line will be closed, meaning Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow lines will begin at Rugby.
Network Rail confirmed 95% of the train network would be running as normal.
Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s director of system operations, said: ‘The festive period is a unique opportunity, when fewer people are travelling, to do big pieces of work to make services better, more punctual and more reliable.
‘The major projects we’re undertaking would otherwise take many weekends to complete and cause much more disruption.
‘Whilst roads are busier during the holidays, it’s actually one of the quietest times on the railway, meaning we can improve things whilst causing less disruption to passengers and freight flows.’
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