Christmas travel: Rail passengers face chaos over festive period

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron has warned it will be an 'utter nightmare'

London, Manchester and Cardiff will be among the cities affected (Getty Images )

Travellers face transport chaos over Christmas as a string of heavy engineering works and station closures threaten to disrupt commuters across the UK.

Those making journeys during the festive period have been warned to plan well in advance after Network Rail, which manages Britain’s rail infrastructure, announced it is carrying out up to 200 improvement works.

Most of the schemes are due to begin on Christmas Eve, which falls on a Saturday, with some of the disruption expected to last for nearly two weeks. All services will be closed on Christmas Day.

National Rail have defended the works, citing figures that suggest up to 50 per cent fewer passengers travel over holiday periods.

London, Manchester and Cardiff will be among the cities affected.

The capital will be particularly hit due to work on the Crossrail and Thameslink programmes.

Crossrail works will close London Paddington station for six days from 24 December. The Heathrow Express, which connects the central London station to Heathrow airport, will be completely suspended for the length of the closure.

Great Western Trains, including those heading to Bristol and Cardiff, will run from Ealing Broadway, apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

London Liverpool Street and routes to East Anglia will be affected from 23 December to 4 January, with a series of replacement buses due to be put in place due to major upgrades in preparation for the new Crossrail East services in 2017.

Those in the south east of London, who have already been affected by the on-going Southern rail dispute, face further disruption over Christmas. Due to work at New Cross as part of the Thameslink programme, no Southeastern services will operate from Charing Cross between 24 and 28 December as well as on 1 and 2 January. Hasting trains will travel to London Bride via East Croydon during this time.

Work on Manchester's Ordsall Chord scheme means rail replacement buses and diversions will be in place for Oxford Road services from 18 to 28 December.

There will be no late-night trains between Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Newport and the Valleys on Christmas Eve due to significant work around the Welsh capital. There will be further disruption from 27 December until 3 January.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: "Christmas train travel looks like it will be an utter nightmare as major lines are set to undergo disruptive engineering works.

"This is a time of year when people want to be with family and travel long distances to be with loved ones.

"These works threaten to put this at risk and leave passengers stranded on platforms around Christmas for hours.

"The government needs to get a grip."

Phil Hufton, National Rail’s managing director for England and Wales, said: “Despite our essential upgrades, the vast majority of the rail network - more than 95% - remains unaffected and will be open for business as usual.

"This vital investment will make the railway more reliable for years to come, while improving journeys for thousands of passengers.

"There's never a good time to impact on journeys and I'd like to thank passengers in advance for their patience."

Highways England is yet to announce its Christmas roadworks, however improvements are scheduled for the holiday period on areas of the M1 and M6.

Additional reporting by Press Association