Railway engineering work over Christmas will cause 10 days of disruption

London Paddington and Birmingham New Street stations will shut for five days but most routes will stay open

Passengers travelling on some of Great Britain’s busiest railway lines at Christmas have been warned of significant disruption from 10 days of engineering works.

Work will close London’s Paddington station – affecting intercity trains to the west of England and Wales until January – as well as Birmingham New Street, the UK’s busiest station outside the capital, for five days over the holiday period.

Passengers travelling between London, north-east England and Scotland will have to negotiate the part closure of the east coast mainline on Christmas Eve. Direct trains from the capital to parts of Essex and Norfolk will also be cut for much of the festive period.