Advance Booking Dates

Booking Horizons

Below is a summary of the farthest travel dates in the future where it is possible to reserve seats today for those Train Companies offering seat reservations and Advance tickets.

Normally, the timetable for any particular day is confirmed 12 weeks in advance. However there may be exceptions to this, where timetables and Advance tickets are not yet available 12 weeks in advance. This could be due to engineering work, special events, Bank Holidays, short notice changes to the timetable and many other reasons. Please check the Timetable Information page for further information.

Not all train companies offer Advance tickets or seat reservations. But for those that do, you can find details below.

Avanti West Coast

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 26 December

Latest time of reservation

Customers can make a seat reservation up to 10 minutes before departure from a station on all services (subject to availability).

Notes

None.

Caledonian Sleeper

These can be booked 12 months in advance.

Chiltern Railways: between Birmingham and London Marylebone

• Saturday service: 30 November

• Sunday service: 1 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.

Notes

Reservations are only partially open on 10 / 20 / 25 October and 30 November.

Chiltern Railways: between Oxford and London Marylebone

• Saturday service: 30 November

• Sunday service: 1 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel.

Notes

Reservations are only partially open on 10 / 20 / 25 October and 30 November.

CrossCountry: East to West routes

Between Nottingham and Cardiff via Birmingham, Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street via Leicester.

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 21:00 the day before travel but some routes may close earlier.

Notes

Closed Nottingham - Cardiff Central route on Sunday 22 December.

CrossCountry: North to South routes

Between Scotland and South West, Newcastle and Southampton, Manchester and Bournemouth / Bristol.

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 15 minutes before customers board the train when booked through CrossCountry's website or app, and at a select number of online retailers / travel agents.

Notes

Closed on Manchester Piccadilly - Bournemouth / Bristol Temple Meads routes 16-20 December.

East Midlands Railway: between Liverpool and Norwich plus to / from Skegness

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 15 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 the day before travel.

Notes

None.

East Midlands Railway: London route

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 15 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 the day before travel.

Notes

None.

Grand Central

• Saturday service: 4 January

• Sunday service: 5 January

• Monday to Friday service: 28 March

Latest time of reservation

Not available.

Notes

Grand Central will not run train services on Saturday 30 November or Sunday 1 December on Wednesday 25 or Thursday 26 December or on Wednesday 1 January.

Some services are open further than these dates via the Grand Central website.

Great Western Railway (GWR)

• Saturday service: 18 January

• Sunday service: 19 January

• Monday to Friday service: 24 January

Latest time of reservation

Up to 2 minutes before travel at any station on Great Western Railway routes.

Notes

None.

Greater Anglia / Stansted Express

• Saturday service: 28 December

• Sunday service: 29 December

• Monday to Friday service: 3 January

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

None.

Hull Trains

• Saturday service: 28 December

• Sunday service: 29 December

• Monday to Friday service: 14 March

Latest time of reservation

Up to 15:00 day before travel for early morning services. Other services up to 4 hours before departing point of origin.

Notes

Closed on some services Sunday 22 December.

Closed for bookings on Saturday 30 November, Sunday 1 December, and from Monday 6 to Monday 13 January.

Hull Trains will not run train services on 25 or 26 December.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 27 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains. Up to 40 minutes before departing point of origin.

Tickets are available further in advance via the LNER website for most weekday journeys between London and the stations north of York, including Newcastle and Edinburgh. Subject to exceptions, such as Bank Holiday periods.

Notes

None.

London Northwestern Railway

• Saturday service: 30 November

• Sunday service: 1 December

• Monday to Friday service: 6 December

Latest time of reservation

Not available.

Notes

None.

Lumo

• Saturday service: 28 December

• Sunday service: 29 December

• Monday to Friday service: 14 March

Latest time of reservation

Not available.

Notes:

Lumo will not run train services on 25 or 26 December.

Closed for bookings on from Monday 13 to Friday 17 January inclusive, Monday 20 January, and on Friday 7 and 14 March.

Northern

• Saturday service: 28 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 23 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

Northern do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.

ScotRail

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 23 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 day before travel for some early morning trains. Up to 2 hours before departing point of origin.

Notes

None.

South Western Railway: between London Waterloo and Weymouth

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

None.

South Western Railway: West of England

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

None.

South Western Railway: Portsmouth route, Isle of Wight

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 20 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

None.

Southeastern

• Saturday service: 21 December

• Sunday service: 22 December

• Monday to Friday service: 24 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 18:00 the day before.

Notes

Southeastern do not offer a specific seat allocation but use quota controls for controlling Advance tickets.

For journeys more than 12 weeks ahead, reservations are currently closed on weekday services running after 23:00 each evening.

Southern

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 8 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel. 

Notes

Southern do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.

For Saturdays and Sundays, advance fares for Southern services will be released approximately seven days after the amended timetable has been uploaded to journey planners. Check here for when the amended timetables will be uploaded.

Thameslink

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 15 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Advance tickets are available up to 18:00 the day before travel. 

Notes

Thameslink do not offer seat reservations but have quota controlled advance purchase products.

TransPennine Express

• Saturday service: 14 December

• Sunday service: 8 December

• Monday to Friday service: 13 December

Latest time of reservation

Up to 23:59 the day before travel. 

Notes

Transport for Wales

• Saturday service: 30 November

• Sunday service: 1 December

• Monday to Friday service: 29 November

Latest time of reservation

Up to 19:00 day before travel for some early morning trains. Other services up to 4 hours before departure point of origin.

Notes

Ferries to / from Ireland - A limited number of sailings are available up to 8 weeks in advance of travel.

Special Events

Please note: NO trains will operate on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day some train companies will run a very limited service, but most routes are closed.

The availability of Advance tickets could be affected by special events taking place along the route of the journey. Please check before travelling.