As we come to the end of 2025 and Railway 200, a year of celebrating 200 years of the modern railway, we at MPI want to recognise something equally important: the people who keep the network running when the rest of the country winds down.

For the rail industry, and our rail team, the festive period remains one of the busiest and most crucial times of the year. While many enjoy a well-earned break, hundreds of our skilled rail contractors will be heading out across the UK to deliver major upgrades, commissionings, and maintenance works for our clients. Their commitment ensures safer, more reliable railways for the year ahead.

And this year, their efforts feel more meaningful than ever. As we mark 200 years of Britain’s railways, Railway 200 and the amazing events that have been put on across the United Kingdom, displaying pictures and trains from across the 200 years, has highlighted just how much progress has always depended on people, skilled, resilient individuals who keep the network moving no matter the challenges.

With the industry facing increasing pressures, tight deadlines, resourcing constraints, and rising expectations for performance and safety, the dedication of those giving up their Christmas stands out even more. Their willingness to step forward at a time when others step back reminds us that the spirit of innovation and commitment that built our railways is still very much alive today.

A Focus on Safety: Zero Harm at the Heart of Christmas Delivery

All rail blockades are planned to the same rigorous standards, with safety at their core. Christmas works are no exception, but due to the longer, uninterrupted access window they provide, they are often planned much further in advance, sometimes years ahead. This allows certain complex upgrades and commissionings to be prioritised for the Christmas period, where missing that window could mean significant delays to essential programmes.

Bringing the Christmas programme together requires an extensive de-confliction process, with continual review and updates to ensure access, sequencing, resources, and interfaces between multiple workstreams are fully aligned. This relies on close collaboration across clients, delivery partners, and supply chains, with each part of the works contributing to a coordinated and safe delivery plan.

Our contractors step into these environments fully aware of the expectations placed on them, bringing the professionalism and attention to detail that makes safe delivery possible throughout the festive period.

Christmas engineering work is intense, high-pressure, and time-sensitive. But one thing remains constant: safety above everything.

Our contractors will collectively deliver thousands of hours of safe work between Christmas Eve and New Year, supported by detailed briefings, established standards, and well-developed work plans.

Alongside this, our incredible teams within MPI work for months behind the scenes to support delivery, managing staffing and planning alongside day-to-day operations, ensuring additional compliance requirements such as fatigue management are met, coordinating training where required, and processing timesheets and payments throughout the period. With appropriate welfare arrangements, including hotel stays where necessary, everyone involved is able to focus on what matters most: working safely, professionally and with the vigilance that has shaped our strong safety performance year after year.

So how does it feel working over Christmas?

We asked some of our contractors to confirm what it is like on site when everyone around is celebrating Christmas and to tell us a little about their experiences during the festive work period. These are some of the great comments we had:

“I like working Christmas on the railway because it brings colleagues from all over the country together – some I haven’t seen in years, and it reminds me that we’re one big railway family”

“If you are on a project, you want to see the project through so if that means working Christmas then so be it” & “when working a commissioning over the Christmas period, you will see the final product come into play”

“Keeps you in touch with companies for future work in the following year”

“A good opportunity for networking and building relationships on the ground”

It’s great to see and hear that the experience is a pleasant one for them and although the motivations are all slightly different, they are united by a shared sense of purpose.

For many, the Christmas commissioning period isn’t just another shift, it’s a chance to contribute to essential works, strengthen professional relationships, and take pride in seeing projects reach crucial milestones. Their commitment helps keep the network moving safely into the new year, and we’re incredibly grateful for the dedication, teamwork and professionalism they show during one of the industry’s busiest and most demanding periods.

A Personal Sacrifice – And Our Heartfelt Thanks

Working over Christmas is no small ask. It means missing time with family, putting aside festive plans, early starts, late finishes, and nights away from home in hotels instead of with loved ones.

To every MPI contractor giving up their Christmas to keep the railway running, we want you to know that we see your dedication, value your professionalism, recognise the personal sacrifices you make, and are sincerely grateful. Your efforts ensure that the network continues to operate reliably and that 2026 begins with a safer, stronger, and more resilient railway for millions across the UK.

So, as Network Rail’s Railway 200 comes to a close, we at MPI want to thank you sincerely. Your skill, teamwork, and vigilance are at the heart of Britain’s railways. We wish you a happy festive season, and most of all, a safe Christmas.