If you’re planning to visit loved ones over the Christmas period, you might want to think twice about using public transport.

The festive season is a popular time of year for rail companies to carry out essential maintenance and repairs as many people are off work, so the impact on commuters is less.

London’s transport commissioner, Mike Brown, has urged people to plan ahead.

He said: “The Christmas and New Year period in London is a fantastic time with lots to enjoy around our great city.

“The majority of our services will be operating as normal, but - as in previous years - we need to use the quieter period to carry out essential improvements to transport at some locations.”

Like every year, there will be no public transport in operation on Christmas Day, and services will finish earlier than usual on Christmas Eve.

But while the Tube, DLR and buses will start up again on Boxing Day, other routes are set for a longer period of disruption.

There will be no TfL Rail services on the entire line from Saturday, December 23 until Monday, January 1.

Rail replacement buses will be in operation between Stratford and Romford, and between Newbury Park and Shenfield, to allow passengers to connect to the Central line.

Newbury Park’s car park will be closed to the public for the duration, to allow replacement buses to use it instead.

Meanwhile the Overground between Barking and Gospel Oak, which has been closed since November, will remain closed until Sunday, January 14.

The line between Romford and Upminster will be shut from Saturday, December 23 until Monday, January 1, while the Stratford to Richmond branch will be shut from Stratford to Camden Road from the same date until Saturday, December 30.

On the c2c line, which runs from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness, trains will finish early on Christmas Eve and not run again until Wednesday, December 27, when a special service of two trains an hour, with extra semi-fast and rush hour trains on the Basildon branch, will run until Friday, December 29.

And there’s good news for revellers - TfL will be providing free Tube, DLR, Overground and bus travel from 11.45pm on New Year’s Eve until 4.30am on New Year’s Day.