Passengers asked to check Christmas train service alterations

Network Rail has asked passengers to check before travelling this Christmas for alterations to the train service due to engineering works.

There are around 380 projects taking place over the Christmas period, with most of them starting at the end of service on Christmas Eve until the 27th December. Over 20,000 railway staff will be working through this period to deliver the upgrades to the network ready for 2020.

Projects on the North West, Central and West Coast Mainline South routes between 24 December and 27 December include:

• Work in and around Euston station in preparation for HS2
• Work on overhead wire stanchions at Bletchley ahead of a new flyover being built across the West Coast mainline to carry East West Rail between Oxford and Bedford
• The track will be replaced at Tring and Crewe stations
• Railway drainage improvements between Preston and Lancaster
• Ballast, the stone foundation of the railway, being replaced in Wolverhampton
• Ongoing preparation work for the full resignalling of Birmingham New Street in 2022.

No trains will be running on Christmas day with some do run in Boxing Day

On Chiltern Railways, the track will be replaced near Haddenham and Tame Parkway on 29th and 30th December, with a bus replacement service in operation, more information can be found out at https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/tickets-and-times/changes.

What did the officials say?

Tim Shoveller, managing director of Network Rail's North West and Central region, said:

“While people enjoy time with their friends and families over Christmas, thousands of Network Rail staff will be working round-the-clock to maintain and improve the railway to provide passengers with better, more reliable journeys in the New Year.

“I know there is never a good time to disrupt journeys while we carry out large pieces of work but whenever possible we do this at times when there are significantly fewer people travelling by train, such as Christmas and other bank holidays. I appreciate people have important plans so I urge them to please plan ahead and check before they travel for the latest journey information.”

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