Christmas trains: which rail lines will be closed?

Engineering works on some of the UK's busiest rail lines look set to cause delays and cancellations for travellers this Christmas.

Network Rail's £200m Christmas and New Year investment programme, which includes new platforms, flyovers, junctions and station facilities, will largely begin after the last train completes its journey on Christmas Eve.

Most of the work will be carried out on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with 90 per cent of services expected to run normally afterwards.

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Network Rail's chief executive, Mark Carne, has apologised in advance for disrupting people's holiday plans. "I know that passengers can be frustrated by disruption," he said, "but people appreciate that carrying out this work at a time when the railway is less busy reduces overall disruption."

Here are some of the planned engineering works over the holidays:

London Bridge: limited services to and from the station (from 20 December to 4 January)

London Paddington:amended service to and from the station (from 5.00pm on 24 December to 28 December)

London Overground:amended service between Richmond/Clapham Junction and Stratford (from 8.30pm on 23 December to 8.30am on 27 December)

London Underground:engineering work affecting the Circle and District line (from 26 to 30 December)

Gatwick Express: reduced service (27 December)

Arriva Trains Wales:buses replace trains between Shrewsbury and Hereford (from 24 December to 5.30am on 29 December)

For more details of planned engineering works for specific journeys, including alternative travel options, visit Network Rail.

The railway authority says an "army" of more than 11,000 engineers will be working over the holiday period in a bid to improve facilities and reduce delays.

"Of course, all this assumes we'll have decent weather," says Richard Westcott, BBC's transport correspondent. "Remember all those storms last year? It's harder to free up engineers to upgrade a line when they are busy sorting fallen trees and flood-drenched mudslides. Let's hope it's nice."