National Express benefits from Christmas train travel disruption

TRANSPORT operator National Express has reported that its advanced bookings on coach routes affected by West Coast Main Line Christmas engineering disruption are up 50%.

The Birmingham-based firm said advanced bookings on routes between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Preston have increased by half year-on-year.

National Express has added thousands of extra coach seats to the network during the run up to Christmas to meet demand.

Around 10,000 extra coach seats have been added on routes to some of Britain’s major cities on December 23 and 24, following the news that West Coast Main Line are carrying out major engineering work on these two days. 

On two of the busiest days of the year there will be no direct train services between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Preston.

National Express says it is also monitoring the situation on other days around the Christmas period and is poised to provide additional services if needed, including on Boxing Day.