A walkout by thousands of members of the RMT union at Network Rail meant many train services stopped early, with routes having no services all day.
One traveller said:"When we were looking for a train at 9am there were no more tickets left. Every ticket was sold out and my sister couldn't get one.From London's Euston, services to Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central and Birmingham International were delayed as travellers waited anxiously with their luggage.
While waiting at Euston station to get a train to Northampton to see her father after her Avanti West Coast train was cancelled, she said she would be frustrated if she could not get there but would"figure something out". Another passenger, student Kartik Aggarwal, 24, said that he was"very irritated" as he faced missing a Christmas party in Birmingham after a last-minute train cancellation from Euston.
He said:"We have planned around it and today is not a working day for me, so it's not really having a terrible effect."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sam Faiers has 'Christmas Eve Eve surprise' as son Edward reaches big milestoneSam Faiers shared an unexpected Christmas Eve Eve announcement with her followers as she showed baby Edward reaching an amazing milestone with a sweet video of the tot
Read more »
What to watch on TV on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing DayFrom the King's first Christmas Day speech to Ant and Dec's Christmas Limitless Win special, there's plenty to watch on TV - here's the TV schedule.
Read more »
Greater Manchester Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day weather forecastThere will be some unexpected sunshine
Read more »
Follow Father Christmas making his way around the world on Christmas EveIt's Christmas Eve, which means it's time for Santa to start delivering presents to children around the world. Keep track of how he's getting on here:
Read more »
Train services to shut down much earlier than usual on Christmas Eve due to strike actionStrike action will impact train services during the rest of the 'extremely busy' Christmas and New Year period as bosses urge people to 'only travel if necessary'.
Read more »
Bournemouth woman turns garden into Christmas Eve food bankSharon Valler will be offering free surplus supermarket food to people on Saturday evening.
Read more »