Plans for reduced services on East Coast Main Line out of King's Cross station moved to night-time to allow Christmas getaway

Some 778 miles of restrictions on motorways and A-roads in England will be cleared ahead of the festive period.

Plans for reduced services out of London King's Cross station on Christmas Eve for major engineering work on the East Coast Main Line - which links the capital with Leeds, York, Wakefield and Doncaster - has been postponed from the afternoon until the end of service, to ease congestion for people making getaway journeys.

Network Rail - the agency responsible for the upgrades - had previously promised a six-day closure of King’s Cross station between Christmas Day and December,30, with reduced services starting in the afternoon on December 24.

The Department for Transport said it would not cancelling or delaying the £1.2bn upgrade works to the East Coast Main Line to ease Christmas travel, as doing so would see benefits to punctuality, safety and reliability deferred by up to two years.

The West Coast Main Line will reopen earlier than planned on December 27, allowing a full Sunday service to run from 10am rather than midday. Longer trains will also run on the route during the Christmas period.

Admin fees of up to £10 for changing Advance tickets bought for specific trains before Covid tiers were announced on November 26 are being waived to encourage people to comply with the new restrictions.

Ministers have written to local authorities in England to request they lift as many roadworks as possible and ensure bus services run reliably, to ease traffic on local roads.

Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy was appointed Christmas travel tsar last week.

The UK Government and devolved administrations have agreed a temporary easing of coronavirus restrictions, allowing three households to mix in a bubble from December 23 to 27.

Mr Shapps said: "With many people carefully considering whether to travel to see loved ones this Christmas, we're taking steps to try to ease journeys.

"Clearing 778 miles of road works and postponing rail upgrade works will ease congestion, minimise disruption and allow extra services to run.

"That action is backed by scrapping the admin fees for changing Advance rail tickets, ensuring a strong staff presence to help people on their way."

He said Sir Peter is carrying out a "rigorous assessment" of transport services to ensure "everything possible is being done to help".

He added: "We ask everyone to closely consider their journey, plan and book ahead, be patient, and be considerate of fellow passengers - and particularly staff who have worked so hard all year - by following the guidance carefully, including keeping space and wearing a face covering on public transport."

Sir Peter said: "The measures announced today will help ease congestion, boost capacity and minimise disruption for travellers.

"I will continue to work closely with all operators and offer recommendations that will see people home safely for Christmas."

Earlier in the Commons, a Labour MP said the Government must ensure there is "no Christmas chaos on our railways" over the festive period.

Shadow transport minister Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi said: "The East Coast Mainline has upgrades scheduled over Christmas to help improve connectivity to the North, but many of these long-planned works now clash with the Government's new Christmas guidance, which will clearly lead to many more people wanting to travel by train.

"The Government doesn't seem to have a plan, so perhaps I can help the minister: let's scrap peak rail fares, increase testing for our transport staff and delay non-essential works by a few days to help people travel home.

"So will the minister reassure the House that there will be no Christmas chaos on our railways?"

Transport minister Andrew Stephenson replied: "This is something we are acutely aware of.

"We have already taken swift and decisive action in order to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum and I and my fellow ministers continue to work to ensure as smooth a possible rail system during the festive period."