Christmas chaos as Heathrow inaccessible via Tube or rail
Passengers will have to take the car if they want to go to Heathrow on Christmas and Boxing Day.
Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) will be in fact carrying out works on the railway network and Tube services to the airport, MyLondon reported.
Network Rail will be carrying out signalling and HS2 work on the Paddington to Slough route, while TfL will suspend Piccadilly line services from Heathrow to Acton Town for a week, starting on 24 December.
“While some essential work is taking place to upgrade our railway over the festive period, we’ve worked hard with train operators to reduce the impact on passengers as far as possible so that they can spend time with their families and friends this Christmas,” Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines told PA.
““I’d like to thank the thousands of rail workers who will be working to keep services running, and those delivering upgrades to improve our railway and bring more reliable journeys to passengers in future.”
According to a TfL spokesperson, disruption is expected to be kept to a minimum as the festive period is one of the quietest for the public transport network.
” We’d like to reassure customers who will be impacted by a closure of Piccadilly line on Boxing Day that alternative travel options will be in place, with replacement coach services operating non-stop between Hammersmith and Heathrow,” they said.
“Replacement buses will also be available between Acton Town and Heathrow for local stations. We have been working with Network Rail on the comprehensive alternative transport plan and we have also been working with Heathrow Airport to ensure they have all the information they need to support customers travelling to and from the Airport on Boxing Day.”