World Leaks

We summarise the best guidance and advice on the diversion routes.

Remember that information on service alternations will be made available on your train operator websites or via National Rail Enquiries.

Always plan ahead.

London Liverpool Street (25th December – 2nd January)

Greater Anglia services, including Stansted Express, will be diverted to Stratford station.

While it may seem inconvenient, the journey between Stratford to Liverpool Street should take you 10 minutes or less to make even with the closures.

Disrupted passengers will be able to access most Elizabeth line services to and from Stratford as well as the Central and Jubilee lines.

London Overground services on the other hand will be curtailed at London Fields, around 2 miles north east of Liverpool Street.

Travellers will be able to use buses to complete their journey between the two stations.

Those living up the lines towards Enfield Town and Cheshunt however are also advised to use Walthamstow Central and Seven Sisters stations to access the Victoria line to travel to and from central London.

London Paddington (27th – 29th December)

Long distance Great Western Railway (GWR) services will be diverted into London Euston station.

Passengers can travel between the two stations via Circle and Hammersmith and City line services at Euston Square and Paddington.

Local bus routes will also be available.

GWR services will also run between Ealing Broadway and Didcot Parkway, with some extending to Swindon, Bristol Parkway or Cardiff Central.

Travel from Ealing Broadway and Paddington will still be possible via the Elizabeth line or through the use of the London Underground.

GWR will operate trains between Reading and:

• Bristol Temple Meads
• Exeter St Davids, Paignton or Plymouth
• Oxford, Worcester, Great Malvern or Hereford
• Newbury or Bedwyn

Services will also be unaffected between:

• West Ealing and Greenford
• Slough and Windsor & Eton Central
• Maidenhead and Marlow
• Twyford and Henley-on-Thames

London St Pancras (21st – 29th December)

Thameslink services will not run between St Pancras and Harpenden.

East Midlands Railway (EMR) will not be running any trains between St Pancras and Bedford over the same period.

According to EMR, customers travelling to London St Pancras will be required to transfer to rail replacement buses, which will operate between Bedford and Milton Keynes.

From there, customers can continue their journey into London Euston via the West Coast Main Line.

Customers travelling north from London will need to take a train from London Euston to Milton Keynes, where rail replacement buses will transfer them over to EMR services at Bedford. 

Customers should be aware that journey times are expected to be extended by up to one hour due to the replacement bus services.

By Jake Penkethman, TV Reporter

1960-1968 – Whilst the Coronation Street set remained on Quay Street for 53 years, it actually had three separate studio sites. The first was an entirely indoor wooden set which was used for the first eight years of filming. This encompassed a replica of the Street built entirely indoors. The set was known to be awkward for actors to use and the houses brought to three quarter scale.

1968-1982 – In 1968, the addition of an outdoor set was created to adjoin the existing indoor set which was still used for filming right up until 1982. The set was used only when required with many of the show’s cast reportedly hating it and describing it as ‘the coldest place on Earth’.

1982-2013 – A brand new set was officially constructed in 1982 and was almost built fully to scale but still only permitted for one car to drive down the cobbled street. The house were purpose-built using reclaimed Salford brick in order to give it the most authentic feel possible. During these years, some of the show’s buildings were adapted to allow for both interior and exterior filming at the same time. These locations included Elliott’s Butchers, Barlow’s Buys, Prima Doner and Webster’s Autos. The final scenes to be recorded on this site occurred in December 2013. By early 2014, it began operating as a tourist attraction for around two years before ultimately being demolished and re-purposed in 2017.

2014-present – In early 2014, the show’s set moved to the TV hub of the North – MediaCityUK in nearby Salford Quays. It is now located a stone’s throw from major TV studio Dock 10 as well as the BBC’s base in the North – home to Blue Peter, Newsround, BBC Breakfast and BBC Sport. The new set was even bigger and built to 9/10 the scale of a real street and allowed for two card to be travelling down the road at opposite sides for the very first time. The site has even undergone major expansions during its 10 years. Just four years after opening in 2018, a brand new set extension was unveiled which introduced viewers to Victoria Gardens for the first time in its history. The Weatherfield North tram stop also became visible as did a series of shops which became used as part of product placement advertising deals. Brands to have been seen on the Street so far include a Co-Op, a Costa Coffee and a branch of Hay’s Travel. Four years later in 2022, another brand new set was unveiled, this time being the heavily mentioned Weatherfield Precinct. It became the first time in 62 years that the area had ever been seen on screens. It fearued a variety of shop fronts, a playground and a number of small flats which have begun to house more and more residents on the street in recent months.