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| Rail regulator to investigate rail work delay chaos | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Office of the Rail Regulator is to launch an investigation into major disruption to passengers caused by overrunning engineering work in London. | |
| King's Cross station has remained closed, with travellers told to use Finsbury Park instead. | |
| Following "chaotic scenes" at Finsbury Park, passengers face long queues to get on the platforms. | Following "chaotic scenes" at Finsbury Park, passengers face long queues to get on the platforms. |
| Engineering work delays also mean there are no services between London Paddington and Reading. | Engineering work delays also mean there are no services between London Paddington and Reading. |
| First Great Western is advising Paddington passengers to use alternative routes with South West Trains and Chiltern Trains and has offered refunds to travellers who choose not to travel on Saturday. | First Great Western is advising Paddington passengers to use alternative routes with South West Trains and Chiltern Trains and has offered refunds to travellers 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 engineering works. | |
| Previous investigations by the Office of the Rail Regulator have led to multi-million pound fines. | |
| A spokesman for the regulator 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." | |
| 'A real person telling us would be nice' | |
| Emily Unia, BBC News | |
| The queues at Finsbury Park snaked from the station entrance, along the pavement and round the corner. | |
| People with small children, large suitcases, dogs and bicycles all waited in the cold. A common complaint was the lack of information about what was happening. | |
| A woman trying to travel to Edinburgh said "not all of us are on Twitter - a real person telling us what's going on would be nice." | |
| One angry passenger told me the 80-year-old man next to him had no hat, was getting very cold and needed help. He was put in a taxi by railway officials. | |
| Another couple told me they'd given up and were going back to their daughter's house. | |
| But others were determined to stick it out - taking turns to get hot drinks and food. Some said they simply didn't have the option of delaying their journeys because they had nowhere to sleep tonight. | |
| Network Rail said the work between King's Cross and Finsbury Park was part of a £200m Christmas investment programme and described the move to cancel all services as "regrettable and unfortunate". | |
| The rail operator, east Coast Trains, apologised for the disruption and said tickets would be valid on Sunday services. | |
| Its spokesperson said: "Passengers travelling to and from London King's Cross are advised to travel on another day if at all possible." | |
| Finsbury Park station was closed for safety reasons for an hour from 11:00 GMT as "significant crowds" had been gathering on the platforms. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| After the delays at Finsbury Park, a spokesman said its "strong advice" to passengers was to defer travel to another date. Saturday's tickets will be valid on Sunday and Monday. | After the delays at Finsbury Park, a spokesman said its "strong advice" to passengers was to defer travel to another date. Saturday's tickets will be valid on Sunday and Monday. |
| Great Northern, which also uses King's Cross also advised passengers not to travel on its services on Saturday until further notice. | |
| Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is demanding an explanation from Network Rail as to how the disruption has taken place, a source said. | Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is demanding an explanation from Network Rail as to how the disruption has taken place, a source said. |
| Mr McLoughlin will expect "a full understanding" from Network Rail of what went wrong and what can be done to make sure it does not happen again, added the source. | Mr McLoughlin will expect "a full understanding" from Network Rail of what went wrong and what can be done to make sure it does not happen again, added the source. |
| Earlier, 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. | Earlier, 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." | "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." |
| Labour, meanwhile, have accused the government of allowing almost the entire rail network to be shut down on Boxing Day. | Labour, meanwhile, have accused the government of allowing almost the entire rail network to be shut down on Boxing Day. |
| Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher said: "Now we see this further unacceptable disruption, just as people try and get home after Christmas." | Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher said: "Now we see this further unacceptable disruption, just as people try and get home after Christmas." |
| 'Unable to leave' | 'Unable to leave' |
| BBC journalist Vicky Riddell said there had been chaotic scenes at Finsbury Park. | BBC journalist Vicky Riddell said there had been chaotic scenes at Finsbury Park. |
| "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, had been queuing for two hours outside the station to try and get a train to Berwick-upon-Tweed. | Jonathan Nicholls, from London, had 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." |
| David Sidebottom, passenger director at the watchdog Passenger Focus, said: "Investment in maintenance and improvement is necessary, and we passengers understand that. | David Sidebottom, passenger director at the watchdog 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 |