Christmas travel chaos looming in UK and Europe over major train delays and strike threat - full list of latest announcements

Train passengers in the UK planning festive getaways are being warned to expect disruption due to engineering work. Network Rail said tens of thousands of engineers will work on around 400 projects over Christmas and the New Year.

Meanwhile in Europe a strike has been announced over Christmas which could impact thousands of journeys. The strike is expected to start on December 11. The protest is against the dismantling of the freight section of the company, SNCF.

Listed below is the action that will affect travellers over Christmas in the UK and Europe. NationalWorld will keep this article updated with the latest announcements.

UK

London’s Liverpool Street station will be closed from Christmas Day until January 2 due to renewal work at Bishopsgate Tunnel and improvements to the passenger experience. Travellers are advised to use Victoria line Tube services from Walthamstow Central or Seven Sisters.

No trains will call at Paddington between December 27 and 29 because of preparatory work necessary for HS2’s Old Oak Common station. That means Heathrow Express trains will be unable to run between Paddington and the west London airport.

Some Great Western Railway services will be diverted to or from Euston, but the majority will stop or start at Reading or Ealing Broadway.

Signalling work in the Crewe area between Christmas Day and January 2 will cause significant changes to services, with no trains passing through Crewe station on December 27.

There will be no direct services between Crewe and Liverpool, and a reduced service between Crewe and Manchester, from December 28 until January 3. Network Rail said conducting engineering work over the festive period disrupts fewer people than if it was done during a regular week.

Europe

Trade unions at France's railway operator SNCF have called for an indefinite strike from next month that could disrupt train services during the upcoming Christmas holidays. In a joint statement to AFP, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots unions said the action would begin on 11 December. 

The strike will impact journeys in Europe and has been called "useless" by Michel Quidort, vice-president of the National Federation of Transport Users' Associations who criticised this strike notice. Transport Minister François Durovray stated on France Inter that "no one would accept" that there are no trains for Christmas.