SearchChristmas and New Year 2018/19 Travel Summary
Fewer people travel by rail over the Christmas the New Year bank holiday period (22 December 2018 to 2 January 2019) which is why rail companies decide to carry out essential improvement and engineering work across the rail network during this time.
Work consists of a 25,000-strong workforce who will carry out more than £148m of vital upgrades across Britain to provide a better service for customers. You can find information on the work Network Rail is undertaking here.
This is why many train companies will also be making changes to their timetable and some train times to match services to the number of customers travelling.
The majority of train companies have confirmed services for Christmas and New Year travel, find the best value fare for your journey using our Cheapest Fare Finder. If tickets aren't yet available for your journey, choose to be kept informed about when advance tickets go on sale by signing up to receive an alert here.
Access Journey Planner below to plan ahead or to book tickets.
We can now confirm that the majority of services have now been confirmed for the Christmas and New Year period. We would still advise that you check the journey planner when planning a journey this Christmas.
To find out more about your rights if a train changes, please check here.
Major improvements to your railway this bank holiday
The following major improvement works will be undertaken during Christmas and into the New Year:
- London Victoria - all routes between London Victoria and Clapham Junction will be closed
- London Paddington - all lines closed on 23, 24 and 30 December
- London Liverpool Street / Stratford - a number of lines will be closed over the Christmas period
- London Euston - a reduced service will operate on most routes to and from the station
- London St Pancras International - a reduced service will operate to / from the station and buses between Bedford and Kettering
- Liverpool Lime Street - a reduced service will operate / from the station with many trains running on a diversionary route
Your can check how your journey will be affected with each train operator by selecting their day-by-day travel guide from the table below:
Our Festive Travel Tips
- For the Cheapest Fares: Try the National Rail Enquiries Cheapest Fare Finder. Also, please check your eligibility for a Railcard, which gives a third off most rail fares including Advance tickets.
- Reserve a seat: We strongly recommend that you reserve a seat where available to ensure a comfortable journey.
- Buy your ticket early: Please check our Buying Advance Tickets page frequently to see when tickets are available to buy.
- Social media: For the latest rail travel news, why not follow National Rail Enquiries on Twitter or Facebook? Over one million people now follow @nationalrailenq on Twitter. You can follow our Christmas updates on Twitter using #xmasrailworks
Travelling in London
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Christmas Eve - Last trains leaving London direct to key destinations - Please see here.
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New Years Day - Overnight trains to get you home after celebrating the New Year in London and last trains leaving London direct to key destinations - Please see here.
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Transport for London services - Details of London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, buses, trams and river services over the Christmas and New Year bank holiday will be available from the Transport for London website.
- c2c,
- Chiltern Railways,
- CrossCountry,
- East Midlands Trains,
- Eurostar,
- Gatwick Express,
- Grand Central,
- Great Western Railway,
- Greater Anglia,
- Heathrow Connect,
- Heathrow Express,
- Hull Trains,
- Island Line,
- London North Eastern Railway,
- London Overground,
- Merseyrail,
- Northern,
- Rail Delivery Group,
- ScotRail,
- South Western Railway,
- Southeastern,
- Southern,
- Stansted Express,
- TransPennine Express,
- Transport for Wales,
- Virgin Trains,
- West Midlands Trains
Last updated: 04 December 2018
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