No trains for ten days over Christmas and New Year on Glasgow routes

No trains will run for ten days over the festive period on some Glasgow routes due to engineering work.

Thousands of passengers will be affected by Network Rail works across the UK at Christmas and New Year as part of a £130m investment.

The operator confirmed there will be no trains between Dalmuir and Balloch/Helensburgh Central between Christmas Eve and January 2.

Passengers will also be unable to travel between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich during the ten-day period.

This is due to the installation of a new railway bridge at Bowling.

There will also be no trains between Carlisle and Lockerbie between New Year’s Day and January 7 because of signalling work.

A number of other train lines across the country are affected. Some 95% of Britain’s railways will be unaffected by engineering work, Network Rail said.

Network Rail insisted this is the “best time” for it to conduct major projects because of the drop in passenger numbers.

As usual, the entire network will shut down on Christmas Day. Most operators will also run no trains on Boxing Day.

Network Rail’s chief network operator Helen Hamlin said: “The period between Christmas and New Year is the quietest on the railway and it’s the best time for us to do the major projects that will take longer than a night or a weekend to complete.

“We work with train operators to organise diversions and rail replacement buses for passengers who are travelling, but it’s still so important to plan ahead.

“That’s especially the case this year as we have some very big plans for improving the railway that will mean people may have to travel home on different routes after Christmas than the way they travelled out.”

Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “You can use National Rail Enquiries and journey planners to check for updates, and our visual disruption maps – short videos designed to help people understand service changes and make informed travel decisions – will also be available in stations and online.

“The industry is working hard to run as many services as possible, and we kindly remind our customers to remember to treat our railway colleagues with respect during this busy time, as they work to ensure a safe and reliable service for everyone.”