Christmas is now just a week away, and as usual Network Rail will be undertaking a major programme of upgrade work over the holiday period. This year, they expect to deliver 200 projects over the festive fortnight across the country. This essential investment work is all part of their Railway Upgrade Plan that provides more and faster services, and relieves over-crowding.
Network Rail know thousands of people will be planning to make journeys across the country at this time, and as a consequence, they have been actively raising awareness of work plans via the usual media and broadcast channels.
Despite upgrade work, more than 90% of the rail network will be unaffected and will be open for business as usual. Unfortunately, there is never a good time to impact on journeys. This is why larger pieces of investment work are always planned for bank holidays as they are generally quieter periods with fewer – up to 50% fewer – passengers travelling by rail.
This year, work on a few major projects will begin on Christmas Eve, a Saturday this year and a quieter time for rail travel, giving engineers and maintenance teams four clear days to make significant progress on major projects that will deliver numerous passenger benefits.
A full breakdown of how journeys may be affected can be found by visiting www.nationalrail.co.uk/Christmas.