Not to mention all main-line passenger trains running out of St Pancras being cancelled over the festive holiday.
Engineers have now completed a £19 million scheme to replace the 160-year-old Agar Grove Bridge over the railway a-mile-and-a-half north of St Pancras station.
The nightmare of noise, traffic barriers and street closures began on December 20 and finally ended when families on the Agar Grove estate woke up on Monday morning with the more gentle ‘rumble’ of trains running past their homes again.
“The bridge at Agar Grove was more than 160 years old and needed replacing,” Network Rail’s Mark Budden explained.
“There is no perfect time to close a main-line railway. But the Christmas break provided the best chance with lower numbers of passengers. These essential railway upgrades mean more reliable trains in future.”
The work meant having to close the line between St Pancras and Harpenden for nine days.
A new road bridge ‘deck’ was pushed in place over the main-line tracks ready for Agar Grove itself to be resurfaced in time.
The old bridge built in 1864 was completely removed and replaced with a modern ‘deck’ over the four tracks.
Network Rail ‘doubled up’ while the line was closed for another scheme to create a new underpass beneath the tracks at Radlett in Hertfordshire while the Agar Grove bridge was being replaced.
The underpass was built beside the railway, then pushed into place beneath the tracks while there were no trains running, to open a new access to the Radlett rail freight interchange which aims to reduce the number of heavy lorries on the roads.
Power lines were also being upgraded along the line so that new electric trains could start running later in the New Year.
Engineers are still working at Agar Grove until May, dismantling the crane and removing it while also connect utility services such as mains water pipes and telephone cables through the new road deck.