Major Disruption As London Stations Close

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Thousands of passengers are enduring major disruption after London King's Cross closed due to overrunning engineering works.

Paddington was also shut for several hours on Saturday because of overrunning works.

Network Rail said services there were "slowly returning to normal" - but disruption is expected until at least 7pm.

The King's Cross closure means East Coast and Thameslink & Great Northern passengers must start or end their journey at Finsbury Park in north London.

However, at one stage passengers there complained of being "locked in" due to overcrowding.

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Gallery: Travel Chaos Hits London

This was the scene today at Finsbury Park station

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And here is why. Thousands were diverted from London King's Cross which was closed due to overrunning engineering works

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All trains to and from the station were cancelled

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The engineering works also forced the closure of Paddington station

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"Apparently we can't leave the station because too many people are trying to get in to get on the train we just got off! Mexican standoff!" wrote Dean Pugh.

Another passenger, @missakis, posted: "It's an absolute nightmare here. No information, except woman with mouse like voice. Nobody can hear her. Crowd is massive."

National Rail said it was forced to temporarily close the station "due to overcrowding" - prompting delays around the country.

Finsbury Park is now reopen - but significant queues remain.

The disruption comes as thousands of people are travelling following the Christmas break.

Passengers have been advised to defer their journeys until Sunday or Monday where possible.

A reduced service to and from King's Cross will go ahead as planned on Sunday, with trains leaving up to 20 minutes earlier than normal.

An East Coast spokesman said: "We apologise for the continued disruption to journeys today, after Network Rail engineering work north of London King's Cross station was not completed as planned.

"Our very strong advice to customers is to avoid travelling today.

"Finsbury Park station was temporarily closed for a short period on police advice and to allow time for the backlog of passengers to be cleared."

Network Rail said the engineering work is part of a £200m Christmas investment programme.

A spokesman said: "What has happened is really regrettable and unfortunate, but it is a small part of a massive amount of engineering investment taking place over Christmas."

The Department for Transport said it was "extremely disappointed" and had contacted Network Rail to demand an explanation.

East Coast Trains - which serves Peterborough, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow and Aberdeen - said tickets for Saturday would be valid on Sunday and Monday, and that passengers affected for 30 minutes or more could apply for compensation.

First Great Western - which runs to and from cities such as Cardiff, Exeter and Oxford - said tickets for Saturday would be valid for Sunday, or passengers could ask for an abandoned journey refund.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: "It's deeply frustrating and annoying for passengers.

"Doing works at Christmas in this filthy weather, things can go wrong - I think passengers understand that. The acid test is how are the delays dealt with - are there plenty of staff out there, is the information good?

"We're hearing reports that there aren't many staff at Finsbury Park and information is patchy."

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