New Year's Eve rail misery

Around 60,000 New Year's Eve rail passengers were facing an extra hour on their journey time today after Network Rail extended engineering work on the busy West Coast Main Line by a day.

The rail regulator is now investigating a complaint from Virgin Trains, which has accused Network Rail of breaking its licence agreement by closing part of the line at such short notice.

At Wolverhampton Rail Station, services to London Euston were affected, with passengers being warned to add at least an extra hour to their journey time.

Virgin Trains travelling from Birmingham New Street were also being hit with an extra 60 minutes, as passengers travelling to the capital were forced to board coaches between Birmingham International and Northampton.

Network Rail said it was "extremely sorry" the line had to be shut at Rugby, Warwickshire, but key work had to be done over the festive period when passenger numbers were down.

An estimated 60,000 people were expected to be affected by the move, travelling to and from the West Midlands, Scotland, north Wales and north-west England.

The West Coast Main Line was due to be closed on December 27 for three days but Network Rail added an extra day of work, which is part of the line's £8billion upgrade.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "Scheduling track works on December 31 is misguided and Network Rail should think again about this decision and the inconvenience it will cause for passengers."

Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus added: "This is unbelievable. Thousands of passengers have booked or planned New Year travel in good faith."

The Office of Rail Regulation said it is investigating the complaint.

The disruption affected mainly Virgin Trains but some London Midland and First ScotRail Sleeper services were also being hit.

A coach service was replacing trains between Northampton and Birmingham International.

By Elizabeth Joyce