Passengers are being advised to plan ahead for their travel plans this holiday season as Network Rail has announced that Liverpool Street Station, the UK’s busiest train station, will be closed for eight days around Christmas. The closure is part of major works being conducted on the station and at the Bishopsgate tunnel.
The station will be shut from December 25 to January 2, impacting thousands of travellers. In addition, several other major stations and services will also be affected during the festive period, including Paddington Station and the Thameslink and East Midlands services north of St Pancras.
Network Rail has warned passengers that trains to London’s four biggest airports—Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton—will also be disrupted during this time. The most significant disruptions are expected on the Midland mainline from St Pancras, with no East Midlands Railway services running south of Bedford and no Thameslink services available up to Harpenden from December 21 to December 29. Passengers travelling north from St Pancras will need to divert to other stations or use connecting bus services.
Paddington Station will be particularly affected from December 27 to December 29 due to work on the new Old Oak Common station. As a result, there will be no services operating from Paddington during this time. Some trains will instead run to and from Euston, while the majority will either depart or terminate at Reading and Ealing Broadway.
In addition to the closures at Liverpool Street and Paddington, Network Rail will also be carrying out signalling work at Crewe from December 27, affecting services until January 3. For passengers travelling to Cambridge, many trains will be replaced by buses between Christmas Day and January 6.
Helen Hamlin, Network Rail’s director of system operations, explained the rationale for the planned closures: “The festive period is a unique opportunity, when fewer people are travelling, to do big pieces of work to make services better, more punctual, and more reliable. The major projects we’re undertaking would otherwise take many weekends to complete and cause much more disruption.
She added, “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. Most of the railway will be open as normal over Christmas and New Year, so passengers can go ahead and book their travel—timetables will start to go live this weekend. Just be sure to plan ahead as there will be significant changes to journeys on some key routes.”
Passengers are encouraged to check their travel routes and book their tickets early to avoid complications. With significant engineering works taking place, it is essential for those planning to use the rail network to remain informed of service changes to ensure a smooth journey during the festive season.
