The last trains out of London will depart by 3pm Christmas Eve, with some lines closing even earlier
(Picture: AP)Londoners planning to head into town for last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve were today warned of the early shutdown of many Overground and Elizabeth line services.
Parts of the London Overground will stop running from around 11am and the Elizabeth line from 2pm on Saturday – and some sections of the Tube will also close earlier than normal.
It comes after passengers using the mainline railways were warned that the last trains leaving the capital would depart around 3pm.
Transport for London said there would be a reduced service on the Overground, and advised passengers to complete their journeys by 11am on its Stratford to Richmond or Clapham Junction, Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside and Romford to Upminster branches.
Journeys on the Overground between Euston and Watford Junction, Highbury & Islington and Clapham Junction, Crystal Palace, West Croydon and New Cross and services out of Liverpool Street to Enfield Town, Chingford and Cheshunt should be completed by 1pm.
The Overground will be fully closed on Christmas Day and Boxing day.
The Elizabeth line will have a reduced service on Saturday, with passengers advised to complete their journeys by 2pm. It will be closed on Christmas Day.
The District line branch line to Olympia will close at 8pm. The Underground will be closed on Christmas Day.
A TfL spokesman urged passengers to check which services were operating before they travelled.
Network Rail said people should only travel if “absolutely necessary” on national rail services. Timetables for Saturday’s limited services were being published today.
The earlier shutdown is due to a strike by RMT members at Network Rail from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27, which will mean many signallers will walk out.
This is in addition to a RMT overtime ban that began at Network Rail and 14 train companies on Sunday and runs until January 2.
GoVia Thameslink, the UK’s biggest train company, which operates Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services, advised passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Saturday.
Southeastern said its network, which operates out of Charing Cross, Victoria, London Bridge and Cannon Street, would shut down by 3pm. It advised passengers to travel by midday at the latest.
The last train from King’s Cross to Newcastle and Edinburgh will depart at 11am. The last Leeds train will depart just after midday, followed soon after by the last trains to Liverpool and Manchester. The last Birmingham train is due to leave just after 1pm.
Yesterday the Standard revealed that more than 40 stations had been left without trains this week, with South Western Railway attracting particular criticism for axing services from suburban stations and reducing frequencies from towns including Guildford.
Network Rail said the RMT’s claim that Christmas would be largely unaffected by its latest walkout was “laughable”.
It said the early shutdown was necessary as all trains had to be off the network and safely stabled and ready for the December 27 restart before 6pm on Saturday.
It addition, hundreds of engineering trains – being used for £120m of planned maintenance upgrades over the Christmas period – had to be moved into place.
Victoria and Liverpool Street mainline stations will be closed until January 2 as a result of the track upgrades. About 250 of the 300 projects will still go ahead despite the RMT action.
