Travel chaos looms as rail links to airports close over Christmas
FAMILIES hoping to get away at Christmas face travel chaos as rail links to Heathrow and Gatwick are shut down.
Holidaymakers trying to reach Britain’s busiest airports will either be unable to access them by train or face delayed journeys.
The normal Christmas Day rail closure at Heathrow will be extended by three days for engineering work, so neither Heathrow Express nor Heathrow Connect trains will run from London Paddington until December 29.
Disruption at Gatwick will last throughout the festive period, with the main line serving the airport blocked for ten days due to engineering.
It means there will be no Gatwick Express trains between London Victoria and the airport from 9.15pm on Christmas Eve until the morning of January 4.
Those flying from Gatwick will be forced to travel to other stations and take replacement buses on Boxing Day. From December 27, they can change at Horsham, West Sussex, for a service to Gatwick – but both alternatives could take three times as long as the standard 30-minute Express route.
Those travelling from the South to the airport could also be disrupted, with rail replacements meaning the usual hour’s trip from Brighton to London – via the airport – will take up to twoand-a-half hours.
Stephen Joseph, of the Cam- paign for Better Transport, said: ‘These engineering works will of course cause huge problems for travellers and I suspect the decision has been taken to inconvenience airline passengers rather than inconvenience commuters.
‘What these closures highlight, however, is the lack of surface transport options to both Heathrow and Gatwick, which is something the Government is still failing to address in its plans for airport expansion.’
There are no trains on Christmas Day and only selected services on Boxing Day.
National Express is operating coach services to both airports during the festive period and travellers to Heathrow can use the Tube from Boxing Day.
Several rail routes face major disruption from £150million of engineering being carried out while two million passengers attempt to use the network.
The West Coast mainline will be closed from Crewe to Stafford until December 29, meaning trains between London and Glasgow will be diverted.
Passengers travelling between the South West and Wales and the capital will endure extended journeys and diversions because of the closure between Paddington and Slough, which also affects Heathrow.
Last year, work on the lines from King’s Cross and Paddington overran, delaying travellers on the first Saturday after Christmas.
Network Rail chief Mark Carne said it was ‘ good news’ 95 per cent of the network would be ‘running normally’ this year.
A Network Rail spokesman said: ‘Improving rail links to our major airports is absolutely vital … The work we’re carrying out this Christmas has been planned in close collaboration with both Heathrow and Gatwick and the train operators.’
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced this week that work on most of England’s roads would be halted before December 23.
But traffic analysts have warned that roads are set to be so busy tomorrow that journeys could take up to three times longer than usual.
‘Lack of options’