Most of Britain’s railway open for Christmas, with passengers advised to plan ahead around engineering work

Passengers can travel across most of Britain’s railway this Christmas while engineers use the quieter festive period to deliver important upgrades at a small number of locations.

Most of the network will be open, helping passengers travel to see family and friends over Christmas and New Year. Where services are affected, passengers will have alternative journey options and should check before travelling and plan their journeys.

This will allow Network Rail to carry out a £152m investment programme to improve journeys, reliability and capacity, including major work at London Paddington, Birmingham New Street, and Huddersfield stations.

Network Rail recognise that any change to a journey can be inconvenient, particularly at Christmas. Engineers therefore plan the most disruptive work for the period between Christmas Day and the New Year, when passenger numbers can be at their lowest.

This is one of the few opportunities to complete major, multi-day projects at some of Britain’s busiest stations and on key routes, improving reliability for passengers and freight customers.

Network Rail’s Group Director, System Operator, Anit Chandarana, said: 

“Christmas is a time when many people want to be with family and friends, and most of the railway will be open to help them get there. We have worked with train operators to keep services running wherever we can on the busiest travel days and to provide alternative journey options where work affects the usual route.

“We are sorry that some passengers will face disruption. The days between Christmas and New Year are by far the quietest of the year and give us the best opportunity to complete major projects such as the power supply upgrades at Birmingham and Paddington. Our teams will do everything they can to keep people moving, and we urge passengers to check their journeys before setting off. Thank you for your patience while we deliver work that will make the railway more reliable for passengers and freight customers.”

Journey planners, including National Rail, are now up to date with travel information through to 4 January. Passengers are encouraged to check before they travel and allow extra time where their journey is affected.