Railway passengers are in for a miserable Christmas due to the ten-day engineering works on major routes. This will cause train cancellations, and significant delays.
National Rail Enquiries officials haven’t added these shutdowns to the timetables, but passenger watchdogs said this year’s engineering schedule might be worse than those for Christmas pre-pandemic.
Many Network Rail engineering projects are expected to occur, leading to delays for services between London and South-West Wales, Wales, and Glasgow. Heathrow Airport will be disconnected from London Underground services during nine days.
The work – undertaken as passengers try to make an estimated ten million journeys over the festive period – will include maintenance delayed by coronavirus disruption last Christmas and over bank holidays.
There are a number of Network Rail schemes that will affect services between London, the South and South-West. This could cause delays in service between London and Glasgow. Pictured at Waterloo station in Christmas 2012, chaos that caused delays for commuters and resulted in cancellations.
Network Rail announced the works programme in the coming days, costing millions and involving as many as 20,000 engineers. They urged passengers and promised that the network will remain intact.
The worst-affected lines will include those connecting London to the South – Southern Railway services will cease between Victoria and East Croydon for ten days from Christmas Day.
Lines between Motherwell, Glasgow, and London will be closed from December 27 through the New Year. Swindon’s and Gloucester work may also affect train services from London to Wales.
Farnborough will host some London Waterloo-to-Portsmouth trains, and buses will replace the train around Warwick-upon-Avon starting December 27.
Network Rail will soon announce its programme of work, estimated to cost tens to millions of pounds, and involve up to 20,000 engineering workers. It urged passengers not to delay and stated that ’95 percent’ of the network would remain unaffected. Stock photo
Bruce Williamson is a spokesperson for Railfuture transport campaigners. He stated: “Works must be communicated clearly to passengers so that they are aware of changes in time and can minimize their inconvenience. The end result will bring about a better railway, but passengers should not forget that.
Richard Freeston–Clough of London TravelWatch, a passenger watchdog, stated: “People want to see loved ones and travel this Christmas. But we really worry that there will be problems for people getting to Heathrow Airport. It is a problem that engineering works are not being completed on schedules.
Rail Delivery Group represents rail companies and confirmed that there had been a lot more engineering work.
Andrew Haines is the chief executive officer of Network Rail. He stated that Network Rail has worked with train operators to minimise passenger impact so passengers can enjoy Christmas with friends and family.