Warning of more disruption on trains

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 28 Desember 2014 | 15.36

28 December 2014 Last updated at 07:44
Crowd outside station

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"We've let a lot of people down," admits Network Rail boss Robin Gisby

Rail passengers have been told to expect more disruption on Sunday at some London stations.

Network Rail said trains are now able to run to and from the city's King's Cross station, which saw many cancellations and delays yesterday.

But operators warned that trains would be "extremely busy" due to reduced services.

Overrunning engineering works caused major problems for thousands of rail passengers yesterday.

The Office of Rail Regulation has said it will launch an investigation into the situation while Network Rail admitted passengers had been let down, adding that extra resources had been brought in to complete the work.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has demanded answers from Network Rail, which runs the UK's railway network.

Track replacement work

Robin Gisby, managing director at Network Rail, said he was "deeply sorry" for the delays.

He defended the decisions that shut down King's Cross and caused 300 metre long queues at nearby Finsbury Park, where police were called in to deal with the crowds.

"We've let a lot of people down, I'm afraid, and I can only apologise for that," he said.

He said engineers had been working "tirelessly" to complete the track replacement work, adding that "extra resources have been brought in to ensure the work is completed for the morning".

Train operators warned the engineering works will continue to disrupt some services on Sunday.

East Coast Trains said it expected to run an amended timetable in and out of King's Cross, but warned services would be "extremely busy".

Over-running engineering works and signal problems also caused delays and cancellations on Saturday for Great Western trains at Paddington station in west London.

First Great Western said disruption at Paddington would continue until 09:00 GMT on Sunday. It has already said that those with tickets dated for 27 December would be able to use them on Sunday and Monday or would be entitled to a refund if they chose not to travel.

The overrunning work between King's Cross and Finsbury Park is part of a £200m Christmas investment programme.

'Bitter cold'
Travellers crowded in front of Finsbury Park ticket office

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Widespread misery for passengers at King's Cross, as Emily Unia reports

Cheryl Oxley, who was planning to travel to Bradford, spoke about her aborted journey from Finsbury Park.

"I was standing in the bitter cold trying to work out if any of the destination options would get me close to Leeds or Bradford.

"I overheard I could get a train to Peterborough and change there and there was a Peterborough train on the screen but then that never materialised."

Read more from passengers

'Badly wrong'

The shut down of King's Cross caused chaotic scenes at Finsbury Park, which passengers had been advised to use in its place.

The smaller station was temporarily closed following police advice.

Trains coming into the capital were halted for long periods while waiting for a platform to become free at Finsbury Park.

The queue for Finsbury Park station

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"The queue for a train went on and on and on" reports Daniela Relph

Sara Nelson, from watchdog Passenger Focus, said the disruption was "extremely frustrating for passengers".

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Office of Rail Regulation said: "The immediate priority is for Network Rail to ensure disrupted parts of the railways are back up and running again for passengers as soon as possible.

"Network Rail, working with the rest of the industry, must learn lessons and prevent problems like this happening again."

Transport Secretary Mr McLoughlin said the situation on Saturday had been "totally unacceptable".

"I will be asking Network Rail to set out what went wrong and how they can learn lessons, but its priority must be to get services running into Kings Cross as well as Paddington," he said.

Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher said it was "unacceptable disruption, just as people try and get home after Christmas".

Contact us

Were you planning to travel from King's Cross today? How has the disruption affected your plans? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

If you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist, please leave a contact number.

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