Timetable Changes
You can find out about any changes to the published National Rail timetable here
The National Rail Timetable is changed twice a year, in May and December.
The current timetable started on Sunday 18 May 2025 and will operate until Saturday 13 December 2025.
The next timetable will start on Sunday 14 December 2025 and will operate until Saturday 16 May 2026.
Planned timetables are subject to change, so please use the Journey Planner to check for the most up-to-date information before you travel, or see Upcoming Timetable Changes below for details of specific train companies. You can also check the Timetable Information page for details of any changes to when timetable information will be available.
For more information, including how to create and save your own custom timetables, see our Timetables page.
Published Timetable of the Day
National Rail operates a Published Timetable of the Day, which gives the schedule of passenger services (including rail replacement services) on the day you plan to travel. This is different from the existing May or December timetable. The Published Timetable of the Day will be available no later than 22:00 on the day before the changes happen. All changes will be reflected in the Journey Planner and on the Live Trains page, the places where you will always find the most up-to-date timetable information.
Upcoming Timetable Changes
Please check below for the changes that will be made by train companies to the timetable from 14 December 2025.
East Coast Main Line - December 2025 Timetable
The rail industry has announced the biggest timetable change on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) in more than a decade, which will provide more trains, thousands of extra seats per day and quicker journeys, as part of a wider set of timetable changes across the network this December.
Launching on Sunday 14 December 2025, the new timetable is the result of £4billion invested on the ECML over the past decade. A summary of the timetable benefits you can expect from this investment, together with timetable extracts and summaries, can be found on the ECML Timetable Website.
Please see below for all the changes that will be made by each individual train operating company.
Avanti West Coast
Information will be published when available.
c2c
Information will be published when available.
Caledonian Sleeper
Information will be published when available.
Chiltern Railways
Information will be published when available.
CrossCountry
CrossCountry has announced adjustments to its timetable from 14 December 2025.
The changes will see an uplift in CrossCountry services, including some additional services between Reading and Newcastle, and between Birmingham and Leicester.
The introduction of CrossCountry’s December timetable coincides with a major industry-wide update to the timetable on the key East Coast Main Line corridor. This includes significant changes to services for other operators using the rail artery, which spans 393 miles between London and Edinburgh.
Overall, CrossCountry services will increase – with additional services on the busy Reading – Newcastle and Birmingham – Leicester routes across both weekdays and weekends. Passengers travelling on Sundays will also see more resilient and reliable services across the CrossCountry network.
However, significant engineering work across the network from Christmas 2025 until the end of January means the new timetable will not come into full effect until February 2026.
Downloadable timetables will be published here when available.
East Midlands Railway
Information will be published when available.
Elizabeth line
A copy of the Elizabeth line timetable from 14 December 2025 to 16 May 2026 is available to download from the Transport for London website.
Gatwick Express
Information will be published when available.
Grand Central
From 14 December 2025, the new Grand Central timetable will launch. Here’s what’s improving:
Quicker journey times on some services on the Grand Central North East route
A more consistent Monday to Saturday timetable
Many services will operate at similar times - such as services departing from London Kings Cross on the hour
Services will be spaced more evenly throughout the day
An earlier Sunderland to London service, and a later London to Sunderland service, will run on Sundays
More services for Pontefract Monkhill, including Sundays
Downloadable timetables will be published here when available.
Great Northern
From 14 December 2025, Great Northern and Thameslink will offer:
Additional peak time services between Cambridge / Letchworth Garden City and London Kings Cross, to create more space on trains for customers
New departures at Hertford North, Bayford, Cuffley and Crews Hill in the morning peak
Faster journey times to London from key locations such as Kings Lynn (seven minutes faster) and Cambridge, as well as stations along the route, including Foxton, Knebworth and Welwyn North
Services between Kings Lynn / Ely / Cambridge and London Kings Cross will stop at the new Cambridge South station when it opens in early 2026
More evenly spaced departure times so customers don’t need to wait as long for a train
More information on Great Northern timetable changes, and downloadable timetables, will be published here when available.
Great Western Railway (GWR)
Information will be published when available.
Greater Anglia
Information will be published when available.
Heathrow Express
Information will be published when available.
Hull Trains
A copy of the Hull Trains timetable from 14 December 2025 to 16 May 2026 is available to download from the Hull Trains website.
Island Line
Information will be published when available.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
LNER will launch their new 'transformational timetable' in December 2025. Get ready for more trains, more seats, and quicker journeys.
From 14 December 2025, LNER are making the biggest change to their timetable in more than a decade. Their transformational timetable means more trains, more choice and more freedom to travel when you want to. Many journeys will be quicker too, meaning more time to enjoy your destination when you get there.
You can view the new timetable to find out how the December timetable change could make a difference to your future LNER journeys.
London Northwestern Railway
Information will be published when available.
London Overground
Information will be published when available.
Lumo
A copy of the Lumo timetable from 14 December 2025 to 16 May 2026 is available to download from the Lumo website.
Merseyrail
Information will be published when available.
Northern
From Sunday 14 December 2025, Northern's timetables will be updated. The new timetable brings key improvements across the Northern network, including:
New faster journeys – an hourly fast service between Leeds and Sheffield, offering you more options and quicker connections between two of Yorkshire’s largest cities
Increased services in the North East – additional trains will run between Middlesbrough and Newcastle, enhancing capacity and making travel easier for work, study, or leisure
Better connections across the wider network – major upgrades on the East Coast Main Line will support faster and more frequent long-distance travel, ensuring smoother and more reliable onward journeys with Northern
More information and downloadable timetables will be published here when available.
ScotRail
Information will be published when available.
South Western Railway
Information will be published when available.
Southeastern
Southeastern will publish full details shortly for the new timetable that starts on Sunday 14 December. Below is a brief summary by route.
Metro Services
Bexleyheath Line:
Extra services will run on weekday evenings, increasing the frequency to half-hourly:
20:25 and 21:25 from London Charing Cross to Dartford
19:23 and 20:23 Dartford to London Charing Cross.
On Saturday and Sunday, services between London Victoria and Dartford / Gravesend will be lengthened to eight carriages.
Hayes Line:
To improve the interval between trains, services from London Charing Cross to Hayes will be retimed.
Departures at 18 and 48 minutes past the hour will start later at London Charing Cross and the interval from London Bridge will be improved from the current 9 / 21-minute interval to a 13 / 17-minute interval.
An additional service will run at 08:02 from London Charing Cross to Hayes calling at London Waterloo East and London Bridge
Mainline Services
Bromley South Line - London Victoria to Orpington via Herne Hill:
The 04:33 service from Swanley to London Victoria is an earlier start and it will not stop at the stations between Shortlands and Brixton. The train will now arrive in to London Victoria at 05:00 offering an 18-minute earlier arrival for shift workers.
An additional service will run at 04:35 from Orpington to London Victoria calling at all stations via Herne Hill
Maidstone East Line to London Charing Cross – Monday to Friday:
Additional services will run at peak times creating a half-hourly service throughout both the morning and evening peak periods to / from London Charing Cross:
08:44 Maidstone East to London Charing Cross
07:57 London Charing Cross to Maidstone East
17:44 Maidstone East to London Charing Cross
18:59 London Charing Cross to Maidstone East
Services will call at London Waterloo East, London Bridge, Swanley, Otford, Borough Green & Wrotham, and West Malling.
Maidstone East Line to London Victoria – Monday to Friday:
Additional services will run on the London Victoria to Ashford route via Maidstone East on Monday to Friday:
09:28 Ashford to London Victoria
21:55 London Victoria to Ashford
Services will call at Bromley South, St Mary Cray, Swanley, Otford, Borough Green & Wrotham, West Malling, East Malling, Barming, Maidstone East, Bearsted, Hollingbourne, Harrietsham, Lenham and Charing.
Highspeed Services
Monday to Friday:
Extra weekday services from London St Pancras International to Faversham at 20:50 and 21:50
Extra weekday services from Faversham to London St Pancras International at 18:30, 19:30 and 20:30
These services combined with existing services mean there will be a half-hourly service all day on the London St Pancras International to Faversham route until late evening
Saturdays:
There will be additional highspeed services on Saturdays at the busiest times of days increasing the frequency to half-hourly:
09:30 Faversham to London St Pancras International
10:50 London St Pancras International to Faversham
16:30 Faversham to London St Pancras International
17:50 London St Pancras International to Faversham
Full details of the Southeastern changes being made, and downloadable timetables, will be published here when available.
Southern
Information will be published when available.
Stansted Express
Information will be published when available.
Thameslink
From 14 December 2025, Great Northern and Thameslink will offer:
Additional peak time services between Cambridge / Letchworth Garden City and London Kings Cross, to create more space on trains
New departures at Hertford North, Bayford, Cuffley and Crews Hill in the morning peak
Faster journey times to London from key locations such as Kings Lynn (seven minutes faster) and Cambridge, as well as stations along the route, including Foxton, Knebworth and Welwyn North
Services between Kings Lynn / Ely / Cambridge and London Kings Cross, and between Cambridge and Brighton, will stop at the new Cambridge South station when it opens in early 2026
More evenly spaced departure times so you don’t need to wait as long for a train
More information on Thameslink timetable changes, and downloadable timetables, will be published here when available.
TransPennine Express
From Sunday 14 December 2025, TransPennine Express will be making changes to services on some routes, including increasing the number of services between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
More information and downloadable timetables will be published here when available.
Transport for Wales
Information will be published when available.
West Midlands Railway
Information will be published when available.
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