Rail passengers urged to plan ahead as King's Cross set for six-day Christmas shutdown

Rail users heading to London over the Christmas period will have to plan their journeys carefully with Kings Cross station set to close for six days.

No trains will run in and out of the station from Christmas Day to Wednesday, December 30 while major work takes place, while a reduced service will run from New Years Eve to Sunday, January 3.

The work is part of the £1.2billion East Coast Upgrade to transform journeys between London, Peterborough and Cambridge.

It is designed to improve reliability and punctuality for passengers and ensure the route has the capacity to deal with increased future passenger numbers.

Network Rail has reduced the amount of work on Christmas Eve to allow a near-full service to run, with services finishing earlier in the evening.

With services expected to be busy, passengers making long-distance journeys will need a seat reservation.

No trains will run on the East Coast Main Line on Christmas Day and Boxing Day - as usual - and on Sunday, most long-distance trains to and from the north will start and finish at Peterborough or Stevenage.

Connecting Great Northern or Thameslink trains will run to and from St Pancras International or Finsbury Park where London Underground services will run passengers into the capital.

A limited Thameslink service to and from Cambridge will continue to serve St Pancras International.

From Monday to Wednesday, long-distance services to and from the north will again start and finish at Peterborough or Stevenage, and connecting Thameslink trains will run to and from St Pancras International.

Long-distance passengers heading north from London are advised to start their journey from St Pancras.

Great Northern trains will start and finish at Finsbury Park, with passengers advised to use alternative services in or out of St Pancras International or Moorgate, or to use London Underground services to and from Finsbury Park.

From Thursday, December 31 to the following Sunday, there will be a reduced service to and from London King’s Cross and trains are expected to be very busy.

Passengers are strongly advised to only travel to or from London on the East Coast Main Line if essential, and to seek alternative travel arrangements where possible.

Visit eastcoastupgrade.co.uk for more details on the revised schedule.

“We’re asking people who do decide to travel to consider their journey, plan and book ahead if they can, and be considerate of fellow passengers," said Ed Akers, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail’s East Coast Upgrade.

“Our teams have been working hard over the past few months to do as much improvement work as possible without disrupting services.

"We now require the six-day closure at King’s Cross so we can reach a major milestone on the East Coast Upgrade, which when complete, will bring a more reliable railway for passengers.”