Network Rail will carry out 10 days of engineering work over the Christmas period, closing London Paddington and Birmingham New Street stations for five days each. The closures are part of a £152 million programme designed to improve rail capacity and reliability during the quieter festive season.
Service closures affecting major routes
From Christmas Eve until 29 December, Birmingham New Street station will be closed to replace overhead power supplies, with no trains stopping or passing through the station. London Paddington will also close for five days due to track and junction replacements near Slough, affecting Great Western services to Wales and the west of
England. During this time, Elizabeth line services west of Paddington and Heathrow Express trains will be suspended until 31 December.
The east coast mainline will be partly closed on Christmas Eve due to work at Doncaster, requiring rail replacement buses between Newark and York and adding up to two hours to journey times. The Great Eastern mainline out of London Liverpool Street will close for 10 days starting on Christmas Day to replace track in east London, suspending Greater Anglia and Elizabeth line services through this area and terminating Norwich-London direct trains.
TransPennine services between Leeds and Manchester will experience
reduced speeds for six weeks from Christmas Day due to the closure of Huddersfield station.
Passenger disruptions and alternative arrangements
Passengers will face rail replacement buses in central Birmingham while New Street is closed. East coast mainline travelers may encounter longer journeys of up to two hours on Christmas Eve due to replacement buses on the Newark-York stretch. Great Western services to Wales and western England will start and terminate at Reading from 27 December to 4 January, with some services rerouted via Oxford to London Euston.
No Elizabeth line or Greater Anglia trains will run through east London during the Great Eastern mainline closure,
affecting direct travel options from Norwich to London.
Christmas period chosen for engineering works
Network Rail selected the Christmas period to carry out these essential upgrades because it represents the quietest travel timeframe. Group director and system operator Anit Chandarana said major projects like the power supply replacements at Birmingham and Paddington can be completed when passenger volumes are low. Network Rail coordinated with train operators to maintain as many services as possible on the busiest travel days and provide alternative journey options where routes are affected.
Financial investment and infrastructure goals
The engineering programme involves an investment of approximately £152 million aimed at enhancing rail reliability and capacity across key
routes. Work includes extensive track replacement on the Great Eastern mainline, overhead power supply upgrades at Birmingham New Street and London Paddington, and junction replacement near Slough. These upgrades support future service demands and reduce the likelihood of delays during busier months.
