Train services facing disruption over festive period with Glasgow routes closed for ten days

Changes are to be made to train services across the country over the festive period.

No trains will run for ten days on some Glasgow routes while more services have been added across the network in the lead-up to Christmas.

Thousands of passengers will be affected by Network Rail engineering 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 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.

However, ScotRail confirmed in the lead-up to Christmas that there will be additional late-night weekend services on some routes.

The additional services will operate on Friday, November 28, and Friday, December 5, 12, and 19.

Some of the routes that will have extra seats include Dalmuir, Motherwell, Lanark, Neilston, Edinburgh Waverley, Kilmarnock and East Kilbride.

Due to track improvement works, buses replace trains between Ayr and Stranraer from Saturday, November 29 to Sunday, December 7, and between Kilwinning and Ayr on Sunday, November 30.

It comes ahead of ScotRail making changes to its timetable from Sunday, December 14.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “The lead-up to Christmas is always one of the busiest times of the year, so we’re adding extra late-night trains on key routes and more seats across the country to help everyone make the most of the festive season.

“Travelling by train is one of the best ways to make the most of your celebrations, and with the removal of peak fares, customers can enjoy even more value for money when travelling with ScotRail this Christmas.

“Whether customers are heading to the Christmas markets, meeting friends for a night out, or picking up some last-minute gifts, we’ll help you get there safely and comfortably.”

Meanwhile, 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.”