East Anglia's mainline train station in London Liverpool Street closed until the New Year

Major engineering works by Network Rail has closed the Liverpool St rail terminus in London until the New Year Credit: Network Rail

Rail passengers in the East of England face major disruption and replacement buses as they head to London between Christmas and New Year.

Liverpool Street station - East Anglia's main rail link with the capital - is closed because of engineering work until the start of service on Tuesday 3 January 2023.

The Government-owned infrastructure management company, Network Rail is carrying out £120 million on 300 engineering projects over the festive period but said more than 95% of the network will be open and urged travellers to "plan their journeys in advance".

The RMT union is also striking over the Christmas period until 6am on 27 December. No trains operate on Britain’s railways on Christmas Day anyway. The normal limited Boxing Day schedule has been scrapped due to the strike, while services will start later than usual on 27 December.

There will be further strikes by rail workers in the first week of 2023.

Christmas is a key period for maintenance work on the railways. London Liverpool Street is closed as the Bishopsgate tunnel, which runs out of the station, is strengthened, a bridge is replaced at Bethnal Green and a new power system is brought into operation for the overhead lines between Shenfield in Essex and Bow.

This will affect Greater Anglia, Stansted Express and c2c services with replacement buses running.

Elsewhere, trains through Milton Keynes and Northampton will be affected as Avanti West Coast trains running between London Euston and Glasgow Central will operate a reduced timetable between Christmas Eve and 30 December 30.

This is because of a combination of track renewals at Harlesden, north-westLondon; platform work at Milton Keynes Central; and bridge work at Camden, northLondon and Wolverton, Milton Keynes.

Liverpool Street station is closed until the New Year with buses replacing trains to and from London

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “Work over Christmas is critical for upgrading and maintaining the railway ahead of the new year, with our teams out on track while so many of us are having fun and relaxing in our homes.

“We have a significant Christmas programme this year, particularly on the lines into Liverpool Street.

"I hope passengers can understand the need for the upgrades and I’d like to reassure them that we’ll be getting a huge amount done while trains aren’t running."

Greater Anglia will operate rail replacement buses (except on Christmas Day and Boxing Day) to help passengers get to and from London. Cambridge and Stansted Express services will start and terminate at Tottenham Hale. London Overground services will not run into or out of Liverpool Street mainline station and there will be no Elizabeth line service between London and Shenfield.

Network Rail said there will a number of projects being carried out:

  • Bringing a brand-new power system into use that will supply overhead lines between Bow and Shenfield and support the long-term reliable running of both Elizabeth line and Greater Anglia trains.

  • Replacing an old rail-over-road bridge near Bethnal Green

  • Refurbishing multiple sets of points on the approach tracks into Liverpool Street station. Points allow trains to change between tracks, vital for everyday operations

  • Strengthening the Bishopsgate tunnel which runs out of Liverpool Street

No trains will be going in or out of Liverpool St station until 3 January 2023 because of major engineering work Credit: Greater Anglia

The Liverpool Street work will affect Greater Anglia mainline services from 27 December up to and including 2 January. Rail replacement buses will run to Newbury Park TfL Central Line station from Ingatestone on the Norwich mainline, and from Billericay on the Southend Victoria line (except on 27 December when a replacement bus service will run between Southend Victoria and Newbury Park TfL Central Line station). National Rail tickets will be accepted on TfL Central Line services between Newbury Park and Stratford / Liverpool Street. No full-size bikes or e-scooters are allowed on rail replacement buses. Cambridge to Liverpool Street services will terminate at Tottenham Hale, where passengers can then transfer onto the TfL Victoria Line, from 27 December up to and including 2 January.

The Stansted Express service will run between Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport from Boxing Day up to and including 2 January. National Rail tickets will be accepted on TfL Victoria Line services between Tottenham Hale and King’s Cross, and also on TfL Circle Line/ Hammersmith & City Line/ Metropolitan Line services between King’s Cross and Liverpool Street. There are no Greater Anglia services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day and there are no Stansted Express services on Christmas Day.

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