Train strikes and engineering works set to cause chaos for Christmas travel

Staff shortages, strikes and engineering works are set to cause widespread disruption for the Christmas getaway this year – with some services wiped out entirely.

There will be no National Rail services on Christmas Day and no services on Boxing Day at the majority of train operators.

Reduced timetables will make travelling between Christmas Eve and New Year a nightmare for people reliant on some of the country’s biggest operators, including Northern, Avanti, LNER, TransPennine Express, Thameslink and Great Western Railway.

Network Rail has scheduled a significant programme of work which will affect journeys across the UK between Tuesday 24 December 2024 and Thursday 2 January 2025.

And despite Labour’s moves to end strikes at a national level with the train drivers’ union Aslef and rail workers union RMT, there will still be some industrial action.

The Government is “worried about” train operator staffing shortages over Christmas, rail minister Lord Hendy said.

He told the Commons Transport Select Committee on Wednesday: “I’ve been through this a lot with [Alex Hynes, director general for the rail services group at the Department for Transport] recently and will continue to be into, right up to and over Christmas.

“That, we are concerned about with several train operators, exacerbated by the fact that inevitably the closures close parts of the railway and put more pressure on others.”

Hynes said: “Generally as a system, we’re over-reliant on overtime working for train crew. That’s a risk, which may be worse at Christmas time than other times.”

Here are all the closures and delays to look out for:

Strikes on the West Coast Main Line

Train managers at Avanti West Coast are to strike in a dispute over rest day working.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will walk out on December 22, 23 and 29.

Union members voted overwhelmingly against the company’s proposals.

It is understood Avanti services will be extremely limited on the days of the strikes and a revised timetable will be issued from December 14.

Customers who have tickets for December 22 and 23 will be able to use them on alternative services between December 16 and December 24, while those with tickets for December 29 will be able to use them on alternative services between December 28 and January 3.

Signalling work at Crewe

The West Coast Main Line will also face disruption because of signalling work which is taking place around Crewe, one of the busiest rail hubs in the country.

Network Rail says this will mean “significant changes” to services in the Crewe area between Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 2 January.

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.

London Paddington closed due to HS2 work

Preparatory work for new signalling and track equipment to deliver trains to HS2’s new Old Oak Common station will mean London Paddington will be closed entirely between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 December inclusive.

Some services will be diverted to/from London Euston, with the majority 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.

London Underground services at Paddington should not be affected.

London Liverpool Street closed for tunnelling work

London Liverpool Street will be closed from Wednesday 25 December with services resuming on Thursday 2 January.

Network Rail is carrying out important work to repair the Bishopsgate Tunnel and improve the station. This will be signicant as Liverpool Street was the busiest station in the UK last year, with 94.5 million entries and exits.

Greater Anglia services will be diverted via Stratford except Stansted Express which will terminate at Tottenham Hale.

London Overground services will terminate at London Fields.

Passengers should use Victoria line services from Walthamstow Central and Seven Sisters or local bus services to complete their journeys during this closure.

London Underground services at Liverpool Street should not be affected.

East Midlands Railway disruption

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.

Network Rail says this will mean passenger services will be “severely disrupted”. There will be no East Midlands Railway (EMR) services between London St Pancras and Bedford, and Thameslink services will not run between St Pancras and Harpenden.

Passengers who usually take the train north from St Pancras will need to use different London stations and connecting buses to reach their destinations.

Disruption in Cambridge

Engineering work including track renewals, renewal of the Cambridge signalling system and construction work for the new Cambridge South station is taking place.

Network Rail says this will “ease congestion and provide quicker and easier access to the city’s biomedical campus.”

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.

Airport impact

Paddington’s HS2 work means that Heathrow Express trains will be unable to run between December 27 and 29, just as the airport expects it busiest Christmas.

The west London airport has said that the number of passengers travelling through its terminals on December 25 is set to be 21 per cent higher than on the same day last year.

It also predicts that passenger numbers for the whole of December will exceed the previous record of 6.7 million in 2023.

What does Network Rail say?

Those are the major projects, but Network Rail says 400 planned engineering works are taking place over Christmas and New Year at a cost of £142m.

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.”