UK Trains at Christmas 2026: No Trains Dec. 25, Paddington and New Street Closures

There will be no National Rail services on Friday, Dec. 25, 2026, and on Saturday, Dec. 26 most operators will run none, according to National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 travel summary for the United Kingdom (UK). Network Rail also says London Paddington closes from Christmas Day and Great Western Railway (GWR) trains cannot reach it until Monday, Jan. 4, 2027. Birmingham New Street has no trains from Thursday, Dec. 24 to Monday, Dec. 28.

The two official pages do not always agree on end dates, so the closure table below shows both. A one-page printable of the key dates is attached.

Are there trains on Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2026?

Network Rail says: “As usual, train services will not operate on most routes in England on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” National Rail’s day-by-day summary is more specific.

Day	What National Rail says
Thu., Dec. 24	Train services on many routes finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve
Fri., Dec. 25	No National Rail services on Christmas Day, as usual
Sat., Dec. 26	Most operators have no service; a very limited service from a small number of operators, details to be confirmed
Mon., Dec. 28	Boxing Day bank holiday on a substitute day; train services running, details in journey planners
Thu., Dec. 31	Services on some routes finish earlier than normal on New Year’s Eve
Fri., Jan. 1, 2027	After midnight on New Year’s Eve, a number of London area routes have special train services

National Rail has not published Christmas Eve last-train times, and its guide to the New Year extra services is due “in early December”. We have not confirmed which operators run on Boxing Day. For the bank holiday dates themselves, see our story on UK Christmas bank holidays in 2026 and when is Boxing Day in the UK.

Which stations and lines are closed over Christmas 2026?

Network Rail and National Rail give different dates for several works. Where they differ, both are shown.

Place	Network Rail	National Rail
Paddington	Station closed from Fri., Dec. 25; GWR cannot access it until Mon., Jan. 4, 2027	Major work at Dolphin Junction near Slough affects journeys to and from Paddington from Sun., Dec. 27 to Sun., Jan. 3
Birmingham New Street	Closed from Christmas Eve until service starts Tue., Dec. 29	No trains from Thu., Dec. 24 to Mon., Dec. 28 inclusive
Liverpool Street line (Forest Gate, Shenfield)	Great Eastern Main Line at Forest Gate closed for 10 days from Fri., Dec. 25 until the early hours of Mon., Jan. 4, 2027	Greater Anglia trains cannot run between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield from Sun., Dec. 27 to Sun., Jan. 3
Redhill	Railway closed from Sun., Dec. 20; work planned to end in the early hours of Mon., Jan. 4, 2027	Dec. 20 to Jan. 3
Huddersfield	Railway disrupted from Fri., Dec. 25 until the morning of Mon., Feb. 1, 2027	Work starts Sun., Dec. 27 and continues to the end of January

Birmingham New Street is the one place where the two pages agree. Network Rail’s wording is that the station closes on Christmas Eve and runs through to the start of service on Tuesday 29 December, which fits National Rail’s no-trains range ending Monday, Dec. 28.

National Rail also lists Northampton (Dec. 27 to 31), Charing Cross (Dec. 27 and 28 and Jan. 1 to 3) and Doncaster (Dec. 24 only) in its summary, and a reduced and amended Waterloo timetable on Sunday, Dec. 27 and Monday, Dec. 28. Check the journey planner for what changes at each.

When do GWR trains reach Paddington again?

Network Rail’s page says the station “will be closed from Christmas Day, while engineers deliver a package of improvements”, and that GWR services “will be unable to access Paddington until Monday 4 January 2027”. Long-distance GWR services start and finish at Reading instead, and some divert to London Euston. Network Rail gives no dates for the Euston diversion.

Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line trains link Paddington and Heathrow again from Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026, per Network Rail. National Rail’s summary describes the Paddington effect differently: major work at Dolphin Junction near Slough that it says will significantly affect journeys from Sunday, Dec. 27 until Sunday, Jan. 3. Use Network Rail’s Jan. 4 date for GWR and check National Rail’s journey planner for your train.

What about Scotland, Wales and the Tube?

We have not confirmed Christmas Day and Boxing Day train services in Scotland or Wales, or Tube and Elizabeth line services in London, because those operators’ pages were not available to us. Check ScotRail, your Welsh operator and Transport for London (TfL) before you travel. The two pages summarized here cover England and National Rail.

Which dates should I mark for Christmas train travel?

Mark Sunday, Dec. 20 (Redhill closes), Thursday, Dec. 24 (New Street has no trains), Friday, Dec. 25, Tuesday, Dec. 29 (New Street restarts) and Monday, Jan. 4, 2027. The attached printable puts them in date order with the source for each. A December 2026 printable calendar and our page on UK holidays help with the rest of the month. If you are in London for New Year, our New Year’s Eve fireworks story covers tickets and road closures.