UK rail passengers could face 'worst Christmas commute ever' as delays may affect 20m journeys

UK rail travel times are likely to double as five out of seven major rail routes will be closed over the festive period, according to media reports.

Passengers are expected to face 11 days of delays impacting 20 million journeys, the Daily Star suggests. The fortnight of chaos is also expected to impact flyers as trains bound for Gatwick and Heathrow will be cut.

Delays are expected to hit services from London Paddington heading west, London Bridge routes heading south-east and Liverpool Street going east.

Passengers heading to Scotland may also face festive frustration as services from London Euston to Glasgow may also be delayed.

Those headed south-west from London Waterloo will be affected too, and The Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express face temporary closures.

Additionally, 8 days of works at London Paddington will close the station from the evening of December 23 to the morning of December 28, shutting off Great Western Railway services and forcing users to start journeys at London Marylebone or Slough instead.

Half the lines serving the station will also be shut down from December 28 to 31.

Furthermore, Southeastern trains will not serve London Bridge, Charing Cross, Waterloo East and Cannon Street from December 23 to January 1.

As well as travel disruptions, tickets prices are forecast to spike over Christmas. The cheapest fares for travel on Saturday, 23 December are expected to increase sharply over the next six weeks, according to the Sun on Sunday.

For instance, advance single tickets from Liverpool to London could rise from £17 to £33 by the start of December, and up to £82.90 for those who wait to buy their ticket until they are about to board a train.

Other routes set to become more expensive over the next six weeks include Leeds to London (from £22 to £36), London to Edinburgh (from £68 to £81) and Peterborough to London (from £11 to £19), the Sun on Sunday noted.