Sunday, December 22, 2024

Full list of train services shutting over Christmas as travellers face chaos

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Trains across the UK will be affected by works this Christmas (Image: Getty)

There is set to be chaos on the train lines this Christmas period, with countless disruptions set to cause travellers grief.

Greater Anglia, Southern, Avanti and more have entire sections of line and stations shut on their services due to necessary engineering works.

Most train lines will shutdown earlier than normal on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with no services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

Disruptions at stations and on lines will impact all train operators using those routes, not only the ones listed. Here are all of the disrupted services this Christmas.

No main line trains will run to or from London Paddington

No main line trains will run to or from London Paddington (Image: Getty)

Greater Anglia

There will be a revised Stansted Express service on December 26.

London Liverpool Street will be closed from December 25 to January 1, with services resuming on January 2. During this period, Great Eastern Mainline services and West Anglia services will start/terminate at Stratford. Stansted Express services will start/terminate at Tottenham Hale.

There will be no services between both Royston/Audley End and Cambridge/Cambridge North between December 25 and January 5. Rail replacement bus services will be in place from December 27.

There will also be rail replacement bus services between Billericay and Witham on December 27 and 28. On December 31, scheduled services will operate, with additional rail replacement buses between Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge.

Bank holiday timetables will be in place on January 1 and normal services will resume on January 2 across the majority of the network.

Avanti

On December 27, Crewe Station and Liverpool Lime Street will be closed, meaning there will be rail replacement buses in place and trains on different routes.

From December 28-31, there will be a reduced timetable and trains to and from Manchester, Liverpool, Scotland, and the North West will go by a different route to avoid works in Crewe. Trains to and from North Wales will start/terminate at Crewe.

On January 1, journeys to and from London Euston will start/terminate at Milton Keynes Central – there will be rail replacement buses between there and Rugby. There will be no services to or from Liverpool Lime Street with rail replacement buses between there and Crewe. Trains to and from Manchester and the North West will go by a different route, avoiding work in Crewe.

Great Western Rail

No main line trains will run to or from London Paddington from December 25-30.

Most long-distance services will start/terminate at Reading, where customers will be able to connect to Ealing Broadway from where London Underground services run into central London.

Those travelling from South Wales, Devon and Cornwall, will have an hourly service into London Euston which will not stop at Reading.

LNER

On December 27, certain services will have station stops for passengers to alight or aboard only. Rail replacement buses will operate between Darlington and Doncaster.

Work at Leeds will cause trains on December 28 and 29 to leave from other stations or diverted, and others to be cancelled.

December 31 works near Haymarket will affect trains to and from Edinburgh Waverley, with rail replacement buses from Edinburgh to Perth and Inverness.

On January 1, there will be no LNER services north of Edinburgh, with all Aberdeen and Inverness services starting from and terminating at Edinburgh Waverley.

Southern

On December 24, there will be no services between Harpenden and London. Rail replacement buses will run between: Luton Airport Parkway and Hitchin; Harpenden, St Albans City and Potters Bar; and London St Pancras and Harpenden.

On December 25 and 26, there will be a limited service between London Victoria and Brighton, and across some Southern Metro routes. No Thameslink, Great Northern or Gatwick Express services will be running.

From December 27 to 29, no train services will run between Harpenden and London, or Cambridge North and Royston. Rail replacement buses will run between affected stations.

From December 30 to January 1, there will be no train services between Cambridge North and Royston, with rail replacement buses between the two.

Transport for Wales

On December 27, all Manchester Piccadilly services will start/terminate at Shrewsbury with rail replacement buses between Shrewsbury and Stockport. Crewe to Chester/Shrewsbury shuttles are cancelled with rail replacement buses in place. North Wales Coast services will now start/terminate at Chester with rail replacement buses between Chester and Crewe.

From December 28 to 31, buses will replace trains between Shrewsbury and Crewe. Services to and from Manchester Piccadilly will start/terminate at Crewe and divert via Chester. A shuttle train service will operate between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly.

Northern 

On December 27 and 28, there will be rail replacement buses between York and Selby, Leeds and Selby, Doncaster and Scunthorpe, Doncaster and Goole and Sandbach and Crewe.

There will vbe a reduced timetable on December 29 with rail replacement buses between York and Selby as well as Leeds and Selby.

On January 1, there will be no services in the northeast apart from between Middlebrough and Whitby.

Transpennine Express 

From December 27 to 29, there will be works between Manchester and Leeds as well as Doncaster and Scunthorpe, with diversions in the former and rail replacement buses for the latter.

Between December 30 and January 1, there is work between Manchester and Preston with some services between the two replaced by bus services.

East Midlands

All EMR Intercity and Connect services to London St Pancras will terminate at Bedford from December 21 to 29. There will be rail replacement buses between Bedford and Milton Keynes.

On December 30, some early services from London St Pancras will be affected by works.

South Western

From December 24 to January 1, there will be works between Woking and Farnborough/Ash Vale, with services starting instead starting/terminating at Basingstoke, Reading, Woking, and Guildford. There will be rail replacement buses between Woking and Basingstoke; Woking, Brookwood and Farnborough Main; and Woking, Brookwood, Ash Vale and Aldershot.

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