Bank Holiday travel update: UK set for train chaos as key rail stations close for works

Network Rail is carrying out its biggest ever weekend of engineering works

Sleeper sell: Network Rail said the work would bring positive changes to millions of passengers (Getty)

Travelling by train may not be the best idea this bank holiday weekend, as Network Rail undertakes substantial engineering works worth £133m, affecting key stations in London.

London Euston, which services many northbound routes including to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, will be completely closed on 26 and 27 August.

Meanwhile, both London Bridge and Charing Cross will not be running Southeastern services, which call at stations such as Dartford, Tonbridge and Hastings, among others, from 26 August to 2 September. In fact, Charing Cross and Cannon Street stations will have no trains running at all over the bank holiday weekend.

There are no trains between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield, Ingatestone, Billericay or Barking on 27 and 28 August, while at Waterloo some platforms will be closed, resulting in an amended South Western Railway service until 28 August. Services between Wales and London Paddington will also be affected for the next month until 17 September, due to electrification work around Bristol Parkway.

King’s Cross, St Pancras, Victoria and Marylebone stations are up and running as normal but are expected to be particularly busy as a result of the other station closures.

Network Rail said the work would bring positive changes to millions of passengers, with longer and more spacious trains running on the busiest lines. Mark Carne, Network Rail’s chief executive, said: “Reaching these major milestones means that passengers will be one step closer to experiencing real benefits by the end of this year with more to come in 2018-19, including more than 170,000 new seats for the daily commute into London – a 20 per cent increase.”

He added: “We know there is never a good time to disrupt services to get this work done, but it does make sense to do so when fewer people are travelling. Bank holidays and the summer months can see up to 50 per cent fewer passengers using the railway.”