Londoners warned: Only travel if necessary as transport shut down by strikes and Christmas
Londoners have been warned to travel only if necessary as the railways and tube network shut down for Christmas amidst ongoing rail strikes.
Network Rail reminded customers services will finish “very early” on Christmas Eve, with Avanti West Coast’s trains from Euston leaving much earlier than usual due to the Network Rail strikes.
Members of the union RMT working at Network Rail will down tools from 6pm tomorrow to 6am on 27 December after they rejected a nine per cent pay increase.
The latest departures to the likes of Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester have been scheduled for 12.22pm, 1.08pm and 12.48pm respectively.
While LNER trains from King’s Cross to Leeds, York and Edinburgh will depart at 12.03pm, 11.06m and 11am.
Transport for London (TfL) has urged commuters to check before they travel on Christmas Eve, as different tube lines will shut down at different times.
Those travelling on the Elizabeth line will need to complete their trips by 2pm while passengers on the Bakerloo line between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone will not be able to travel past 3pm due to strike action.
The disruption – which will delay planned engineering works – will also hit the Bakerloo line as it shares part of the track with Network Rail.
On the District line, there will be no services between Earls Court and Kensington Olympia from 8pm while trains between Parsons Green and Wimbledon as well as Turnham Green and Richmond will stop after 3pm.
Services on the London Overground will cease between 11am and 1pm.
Buses will operate a normal Saturday service, but will not run through the night.
People – who might rely more on cabs or ride hailing services – have also been urged to plan their trips carefully, avoiding unbooked minicabs.
A Bolt spokesperson told Morning Wire the company was expecting more drivers on the road to cater to the increasing number expected for the festive period.
“If passenger demand outstrips the supply of drivers, we apply a surge multiplier in order to rectify this so everyone can get to where they need to be quickly and safely,” they said.
“It will be capped at a level that strikes a balance of reliability, convenience and value that works for both driver and passenger.”