Engineering works to delay thousands of rail passengers’ Christmas travel

Passengers can expect cancellations, delays, and even bus replacement services for Christmas...

13:12 22 October 2012

Rail passengers, especially those who are traveling on West Coast main line, can expect nothing but chaos as they board for their Christmas travels. This is due to engineering work across the country which includes a £123 million track and signaling project at Bletchley, near Milton Keynes, that Network Rail will start late on Saturday, December 22nd.

 

The worst-affected will be passengers traveling to and from Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow. It is understood that they can expect at least 2-hour delays, cancellations, and even bus replacement services. 

 

As expected, not everybody is happy about the news calling the timing “madness.”

 

Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley and Broughton in Manchester, said it was “an insult to passengers."

He added, as reported by the Mail Online: “It’s bound to be chaos. The trains are always packed just before Christmas and this disruption will make it many times worse.”

 

Network Rail sympathized with passengers but explained that the timing was agreed with train companies and would improve speed and capacity in the area.