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| King's Cross cancellations cause rail travel chaos | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| All trains to and from London King's Cross have been cancelled because of overrunning engineering work. | |
| Passengers were instead told to use Finsbury Park, but the station had to be closed due to overcrowding. | Passengers were instead told to use Finsbury Park, but the station had to be closed due to overcrowding. |
| "Chaotic scenes" were reported, with trains leaving but queuing passengers outside unable to access the platforms. | |
| Meanwhile, First Great Western has said there will be no services between London Paddington and Reading due to overrunning engineering works. | |
| The company is advising passengers to use alternative routes with South West Trains and Chiltern Trains and has offered refunds to commuters who choose not to travel on Saturday. | |
| West Coast Main Line services are also not running between London Euston and Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire until 29 December, due to planned engineering works. | |
| Network Rail said the work near King's Cross was part of a £200m Christmas investment programme and described the move to cancel services as "regrettable and unfortunate". | |
| The Department for Transport said it would have talks with the rail operator about the "disappointing" delay. | |
| Following the announcement of the King's Cross cancellations, East Coast Trains said passengers would need to start or finish their journey at Finsbury Park in north London, with at least one change of train. It said customers should defer travel where possible. | |
| 'Unable to leave' | |
| Network Rail said Finsbury Park station had to be closed temporarily at about 11:00 GMT. At 12:15 the company said some trains were stopping at platforms, but the station remained closed to customers waiting outside. | |
| National Rail has since tweeted to say Finsbury Park has reopened with a queuing system in place. | National Rail has since tweeted to say Finsbury Park has reopened with a queuing system in place. |
| BBC journalist Vicky Riddell said there had been chaotic scenes at the station. | |
| "People were unable to leave the station via one of the exits due to overcrowding in the underground passageways which led to the overground platforms," she said. | "People were unable to leave the station via one of the exits due to overcrowding in the underground passageways which led to the overground platforms," she said. |
| "Outside, the entrance to the mainline station was blocked due to the volume of people trying to get in and out, leading to people missing their trains due to being simply unable to get into the station." | "Outside, the entrance to the mainline station was blocked due to the volume of people trying to get in and out, leading to people missing their trains due to being simply unable to get into the station." |
| Jonathan Nicholls, from London, has been queuing for two hours outside the station to try and get a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed. | Jonathan Nicholls, from London, has been queuing for two hours outside the station to try and get a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed. |
| He said: "There's no-one outside the station giving any directions, no police or anything. | He said: "There's no-one outside the station giving any directions, no police or anything. |
| "Everyone seems to have holed themselves up inside the station and just closed the grille and everyone is arguing and shouting and trying to move people out of the way themselves." | "Everyone seems to have holed themselves up inside the station and just closed the grille and everyone is arguing and shouting and trying to move people out of the way themselves." |
| Transport for London tweeted that travellers should "avoid the station if possible". | Transport for London tweeted that travellers should "avoid the station if possible". |
| A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "It is extremely disappointing that Network Rail's engineering works have overrun and will affect travellers during this festive season. Passengers will be rightly annoyed. | |
| "This was essential work but passengers need to be able to plan and rely on Network Rail meeting its deadlines for having the network back in service." | |
| David Sidebottom, passenger director at Passenger Focus, said: "Investment in maintenance and improvement is necessary, and we passengers understand that. | David Sidebottom, passenger director at Passenger Focus, said: "Investment in maintenance and improvement is necessary, and we passengers understand that. |
| "We will be looking to see that operators and Network Rail are doing all in their power to alert passengers, to help them make alternative arrangements and to make it easy for them to claim refunds or compensation." | "We will be looking to see that operators and Network Rail are doing all in their power to alert passengers, to help them make alternative arrangements and to make it easy for them to claim refunds or compensation." |
| Sunday delays | Sunday delays |
| A Network Rail spokesman said the work was "a small part of a massive amount of engineering investment taking place over Christmas". | A Network Rail spokesman said the work was "a small part of a massive amount of engineering investment taking place over Christmas". |
| He said 4.5 million passengers use the railways on average every day, compared with two million a day over the Christmas and New Year holiday. | He said 4.5 million passengers use the railways on average every day, compared with two million a day over the Christmas and New Year holiday. |
| About 300 projects are being undertaken over the holidays across 2,000 sites up and down the country. | About 300 projects are being undertaken over the holidays across 2,000 sites up and down the country. |
| National Rail said a reduced service to and from London King's Cross was expected to operate on Sunday, but journeys could be retimed and take longer than expected. | National Rail said a reduced service to and from London King's Cross was expected to operate on Sunday, but journeys could be retimed and take longer than expected. |
| Trains will leave King's Cross up to 20 minutes earlier than normal, resuming their usual stopping times from Peterborough. Services to King's Cross will arrive up to 40 minutes later than normal. | Trains will leave King's Cross up to 20 minutes earlier than normal, resuming their usual stopping times from Peterborough. Services to King's Cross will arrive up to 40 minutes later than normal. |
| Other services will start or end at Doncaster, Newark North Gate, Peterborough or Stevenage. | Other services will start or end at Doncaster, Newark North Gate, Peterborough or Stevenage. |
| Contact us | 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. | 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. | If you are willing to be contacted by a BBC journalist, please leave a contact number. |
| Have your say | Have your say |