Christmas rail disruption as Paddington and Kings Cross close for engineering work

Passengers in Paddington station in London, during a strike by train driver members of Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. Picture date: Friday February 3, 2023.
Passengers in Paddington station in West London Credit: PA

Rail passengers are being warned to expect severe disruption on Christmas Eve because of the closure of two of London's busiest mainline stations. Paddington and Kings Cross will shut on December 24th forcing passengers to take lengthy diversions and adding around 90 minutes to some journeys. The Great Western mainline will be closed between Paddington and Ealing Common to allow engineering work on the new HS2 interchange station at Old Oak Common. Trains to and from South Wales and the West Country will terminate at Reading. The East Coast mainline will be closed between Kings Cross and Peterborough. Below are some trains from Paddington on the Sunday before Christmas Eve and on the 24th:

17 December 2023

  • Paddington to Hereford (1045)

    3hr 2min

  • Paddington to Swansea (1045)

    2hr 44min

  • Paddington to Plymouth (1003)

    3hr 8min

24 December 2023

  • Paddington to Hereford (1013)

    4hr 14min (+1hr 6min)

  • Paddington to Swansea (1013)

  • 4hr 18min (+1hr 34min)

  • Paddington to Plymouth (1028)

    4hr 42min (+1hr 34min

Commuters are also facing travel chaos throughout December, as train drivers plan a series of rolling one-day strikes to cause "greater" disruption to the rail network. More information here.

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