Christmas at risk as Network Rail carries out 300 engineering projects

2022-11-21

Christmas plans under threat as Network Rail will carry out 300 engineering projects bringing disruption to key London stations – while possibility of yet more strikes still looms amid row over pay

Major stations London Liverpool Street and London Victoria will be impacted
Network Rail urged festive travellers to ‘plan their journeys in advance’
The engineering projects will cost a total of £120 million

Rail passengers face major disruption over Christmas as Network Rail carries out 300 engineering projects.

The government-owned infrastructure management company said more than 95 per cent of the network will be open but urged travellers to ‘plan their journeys in advance’.

And passengers could also suffer further disruption from strike action, as just last week the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said a fresh ballot of its members showed overwhelming support to carry on with industrial action in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Network Rail announced that London Liverpool Street will be closed between Christmas Day and January 2 for work including bridge reconstruction and track maintenance. This will affect Greater Anglia, Stansted Express and c2c services.

There will be no Southern or Gatwick Express services to or from London Victoria over the same period. This will allow signalling and track work to take place at Clapham Junction and Balham. Most trains will be diverted to London Bridge.

London Liverpool Street will be closed between Christmas Day and January 2 for work including bridge reconstruction and track maintenance

Major London stations will be impacted during the festive holiday period due to 300 engineering projects

London Liverpool Street

London Liverpool Street will be closed between Christmas Day and January 2: This will affect Greater Anglia, Stansted Express and c2c services

London Victoria

There will be no Southern or Gatwick Express services to or from London Victoria between Christmas Day and January 2. Most trains will be diverted to London Bridge.

London Euston and Glasgow Central

Avanti West Coast trains running between London Euston and Glasgow Central will run to a reduced timetable between Christmas Eve and December 30.

Cannon Street Station

Signal and track renewals in Lewisham, south-east London mean Cannon Street station will be closed on Christmas Eve.

London Waterloo

There will be a reduced service for short-distance trains from London Waterloo between December 27 and New Year’s Day.

Avanti West Coast trains running between London Euston and Glasgow Central will run to a reduced timetable between Christmas Eve and December 30.

This is because of a combination of track renewals at Harlesden, north-west London; platform work at Milton Keynes Central; and bridge work at Camden, north London and Wolverton, Milton Keynes.

Signal and track renewals in Lewisham, south-east London mean Cannon Street station will be closed on Christmas Eve.

There will be a reduced service for short-distance trains from London Waterloo between December 27 and New Year’s Day because of bridge strengthening work in Battersea, south London.

The projects will cost a total of £120 million.

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: ‘Christmas is an important time for the railway as it gives us the opportunity to get a lot of work done to improve the railway when trains aren’t running, and therefore keep disruption for our passengers at a minimum.

‘We’ve worked closely with our train operators to ensure the vast majority of the network is open for business over the festive period so people can travel by rail to spend time with their families and friends.

‘However, some of these key upgrade projects will have an impact on services, so we’re asking passengers to plan their journeys before travelling.

‘And a huge thank you to the thousands of rail workers who will be working over this period to keep services running and delivering upgrades to improve our railway, therefore bringing more reliable journeys to passengers in the future.’

This comes as drivers from 11 rail companies, part of the Aslef union, will walk out on November 26 in a long-running dispute over pay which will halt passengers yet again.

There will be no Southern or Gatwick Express services to or from London Victoria between Christmas Day and January 2, most trains will be diverted to London Bridge

Avanti West Coast trains running between London Euston and Glasgow Central will run to a reduced timetable between Christmas Eve and December 30

There will be a reduced service for short-distance trains from London Waterloo between December 27 and New Year’s Day

Signal and track renewals in Lewisham, south-east London mean Cannon Street station will be closed on Christmas Eve

The rail strike will affect the following train operators: Avanti West Coast; Chiltern Railways; CrossCountry; East Midlands Railway; Great Western Railway; Greater Anglia; London North Eastern Railway; Northern Trains; Southeastern; Transpennine Express, and West Midlands Trains.

Rugby fans are set to be among the hardest hit as they will be forced to look for alternative ways to get to England v South Africa at Twickenham and to Cardiff for the Autumn International match Wales v Australia.

Disruption is expected to spill over onto Sunday November 27 before disgruntled workers return.

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