Trains will run 365 days of the year for the first time in half a century under new Network Rail plans, The Times has learnt (links below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2008/01/railways_will_run_every_day_of.html#more

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7197982.stm

Engineering works, the main cause of rail delays and shutdowns, will be completed at night in a fraction of the time it currently takes, according to Iain Coucher, Network Rail’s chief executive.

Passengers should no longer be forced to catch replacement buses at weekends and should have services over Christmas, when the network shuts normally for 60 hours.

Bridges and points will be preassembled in a factory rather than on site and will be lifted into place from rail wagons. Schemes that take a whole weekend currently and require tracks to be closed will be completed in eight hours overnight, allowing services to continue until 10pm and resume at 6am.

Does this mean an earlier finish in the evening and a later start in the morning then?

I note the following quote from Ian Coucher on whether the railways need reform :