With just over six weeks to go until tens of thousands of railway engineers deliver upgrades across the country over Christmas and New Year, passengers are being reminded to plan their journeys in advance as some routes will be disrupted.
Throughout this period, engineers will be replacing or renewing 45 sets of points (movable sections that transfer a train from one track to another), rebuilding four bridges, installing 40km of new signalling cables, renewing 17 level crossings and testing and switching-on seven new signalling systems, all aimed at cutting delays, improving train performance and enhancing reliability.
Across Network Rail’s managed stations, the number of passengers travelling during the seven days between Christmas and New Year typically drops by 50-60% compared to a typical week in November or early December. As a result, engineering work carried out over the festive period causes much less disruption than it would during a busier, regular week.
Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s director of system operations, said:
“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.”
“ The major projects we’re undertaking would otherwise take many weekends to complete and cause more disruption to passengers.”
“Most of the railway will be open as normal over Christmas and New Year, so passengers can continue to book their travel, just be sure to plan ahead as there will be significant changes to journeys on some routes.”
Network Rail will be undertaking around 400 projects over Christmas and New Year, the most notable of which are:
- Renewal work at Bishopsgate Tunnel and work to improve passenger experience at London Liverpool Street means the station will be closed from Wednesday 25 December with services resuming on Thursday 2 January. Greater Anglia services, including Stansted Express, will be diverted via Stratford. London Overground services will terminate at London Fields.
- Various engineering projects- including work to enable the introduction of East Midlands Railways’ new trains- will take place on the Midland Main Line between Saturday 21 and Sunday 29 December, meaning passenger services are severely disrupted. There will be no East Midlands Railway (EMR) services between London St Pancras and Bedford and Thameslink services will not run between London St Pancras and Harpenden. Passengers who usually take the train north from London St Pancras will need to use different London stations and connecting buses to reach their destinations.
- Preparatory work for new signalling and track equipment - necessary to deliver trains to HS2’s new Old Oak Common station near Paddington - means that no services will call at London Paddington between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 December inclusive. Some services will instead be diverted to/from London Euston, with the majority of trains starting/stopping at Reading and Ealing Broadway. Passengers for London can change at Ealing Broadway and take a Transport for London service into the city, using either the District or Central lines.
- There will be significant changes to services in the Crewe area between Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 2 January as resignalling work takes place. Changes to services will differ during this period. No trains will pass through Crewe on Friday 27 December and there will be no direct service to Liverpool and a reduced service to Manchester from Saturday 28 December until Friday 3 January.
- Engineering work including track renewals, renewal of the Cambridge signalling system and construction work for the new Cambridge South station - which will ease congestion and provide quicker and easier access to the city’s biomedical campus- means there will be no services between both Royston/Audley End and Cambridge/Cambridge North from Wednesday 25 December to Sunday 5 January. Rail replacement bus services will be in place between affected stations except on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Image credit: Network Rail
