ITV's Good Morning Britain delivered some guttening news to fans today (December 24). A news report shared that many people travelling across Britain could have their Christmases disrupted by railway delays and cancellations.
Reporter Nitya Rajan was live from Milton Keyes as she delivered the news. She shared that Network Rail says it’s renewing 45 sets of points, replacing four bridges and installing 40 km of new signalling cables.
As a result, rail passengers have been warned to expect delays and cancellations between Christmas and New Year. People travelling to see friends and family or to get home for Christmas could have their plans scuppered.
The correspondent explained: "You definitely need to check before you head out over the next few days, with key dates to bear in mind. Obviously today is Christmas Eve and services will finish earlier.
"Tomorrow, there is no Network Rail services anywhere, so that's something to bear in mind. And then on Boxing Day there are a limited number of services run by a small number of operators."
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She added that some major stations would be impacted due to opening times. For example, Liverpool Street station in London is set to be closed for eight days, from Christmas Day to New Years Day.
Nitya shared: "It's the busiest station on the network but it will be closed for eight days." She went on to add that Paddington station will have no main line services on the Great Western Railway lines from December 27 to 29.
St Pancras station will also be impacted, with no Thameslink to Harpenden and no East Midlands Rail to Bedford, from December 21 to 29.
Explaining the reasons for the disruptions, the correspondent continued: "Just to give you an outline of the types of work going on, we've just talked about engineering work but they're also installing seven new signalling systems at 45 new points across the UK as well as four bridges across the network that will be rebuilt.
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"And a total of 17 level crossings that will be upgraded. Now, that's all to say there will be various points where there'll be services disrupted, so check before you travel and have a Merry Christmas."
Fans of the show were outraged at the news. Posting to social media, namely X (formerly Twitter), one viewer penned: "Why over Xmas for goodness sake and not in January when people not travelling to visit relatives?"
Another added: "One of the biggest days of sport on Boxing Day,and more people on the roads driving...clever thinking rail network...and closing London train stations for a week...doh," while a third shared: "More excuses for delays and cancellations, just what we need to top off the holiday season."
They continued: "Maybe instead of throwing money at signalling cables, we should be investing in a more efficient rail system?"
