London’s rail and Tube travellers face the prospect of major delays and rail closures over the upcoming Christmas period due to "essential" engineering work.
Large sections of the Tube and National Rail network, including the entire Jubilee Line, are to be shut for four days over Christmas, from 25 to 28 December.
Some London commuter lines will be closed for up to 11 days, including the South West Trains service between Clapham Junction and Barnes, while the West Coast Main Line will not run south of Coventry from December 25 to 28.
No Virgin Trains services will run to and from Euston via Milton Keynes to allow for resignalling work in the Milton Keynes area.
National Rail said repairs needed to be carried out on extensive sections of the British rail network and explained that Christmas was chosen for the engineering work "because travel was far lighter than at other times of the year".
Rail watchdogs, MPs and travellers have all expressed fears of a repeat of last Christmas, when engineering work ran over schedule by as many as five days in some cases.
National Rail was fined a record £14million for the mass disruptions, which affected an estimated 200,000 passengers across the country.
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