Scottish rail passengers could face Christmas travel chaos as London closures affect major UK routes

Rail passengers travelling to and from Scotland are set to experience significant disruption to services this Christmas, as trains to London stations are cancelled, cutting off major routes across the UK.

Engineering works will take place from 22 December 2018 to 2 January 2019, bringing chaos to commuters

Engineering works taking place during the festive period, from 22 December 2018 to 2 January 2019, will bring chaos to commuters, with routes from Glasgow to Penzance facing delays, diversion and cancellations.

Which routes will be affected?

Network Rail has warned some routes will have "significant changes to normal services", and urged passengers to plan their journeys as early as possible.

Changes to normal services are expected and passengers are being urged to plan their journeys as early as possible

Trains out of London’s Paddington station will be severely affected, with no services running between 23 and 26 December. Southern rail routes from London Victoria will be disrupted from 22 December to 2 January, with buses replacing the local link to Clapham Junction.

Gatwick Express services to and from Victoria will not run at all, with passengers set to be diverted to services from London Bridge and Blackfriars.

East London departures and arrivals will also be affected due to works between Liverpool Street and Stratford, impacting passengers using services from Greater Anglia, Stanstead Express, c2c, and Tfl Rail.

London Euston will face a reduction in its services, with timetable changes to the overground Watford line and Virgin trains to Scotland and the Midlands.

The Caledonian Sleeper to Scotland will be cancelled between 24 and 26 December.

There will be no Heathrow Express services from 23 to 25 December, as well as 30 December. Great Western Railway trains will terminate at Slough or Reading.

Rail replacement buses will be in place between Liverpool Lime Street and Crewe to help manage the closure of Warrington station

Engineering works are also taking place at various points around Manchester Victoria, closing lines during Christmas and New Year, while track improvements between Bedford and Kettering (as part of the Midland Main Line Upgrade) will also affect timetables from 24 December to 1 January.

There will be no rail services running at all across the UK on Christmas Day.

An attempt to avoid commuter misery

Many train operators are still yet to confirm which routes will face disruption, but Blackpool, Leicester, Nottingham and Warrington will be among the affected stations.

Despite the mass inconvenience, the festive period was considered as the best time to carry out the improvement works as there is typically a reduction in the number of people commuting over Christmas and New Year.

Andy Thomas, managing director of strategic operations at Network Rail, told The Metro: “This Christmas and New Year, thousands of rail workers will be working round the clock to deliver crucial upgrades to the rail network as part of the £50 billion railway upgrade plan.

"This huge investment programme will deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved facilities and services for passengers when they return to work.

"We know that our railway is up to 50 per cent quieter than usual during the festive period so taking on and delivering these huge transformational schemes at this time of year minimises our impact on passengers who, research shows, understand the need for such activity.

"While most of the network is open for business as usual, some routes are heavily affected and so we strongly advise passengers to plan ahead."

Virgin Trains,which operates between Glasgow, Edinburgh and London Euston, said it was the usual Christmas shutdown.

A spokesman said: "It’s a fairly normal service – later start on the day after Boxing Day, earlier finish Christmas Eve, no trains on Christmas and Boxing Day."