Leaf Fall Timetable Changes: Autumn 2026
There are millions of trees next to the railway in Britain and, every autumn, thousands of tonnes of leaves fall onto the tracks. Windy conditions can cause heavy leaf-fall in a short space of time and rain means they are more likely to stick to the rails. When trains pass over leaves, the heat and weight of the trains bake them into a thin, slippery layer on the rail. This is equivalent to black ice on the roads.
How are trains affected?
Slippery rails make it hard for trains to accelerate and brake effectively. Safety is our priority, so when this happens, drivers have to pull out of stations more slowly and brake much earlier for stations and signals to make sure they stop in time. This can lead to longer journey times and delays.
What we do about it – autumn timetables
In areas with very heavy leaf-fall some train operators publish special autumn timetables with revised journey timings. These timetables allow extra time for train drivers to drive more cautiously than at other times of the year, so they can get you to where they need to go safely and reliably. Leaf-fall timetables operate from September / early October until Saturday 12 December 2026 (unless stated otherwise below).
The following leaf-fall timetable changes have been announced for autumn 2026:
You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.
Avanti West Coast
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
c2c
No changes to the timetable will be made specifically for leaf fall.
Caledonian Sleeper
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Chiltern Railways
The Chiltern Railways Autumn (Leaf Fall) timetable starts on Monday 28 September 2026 and continues until Sunday 10 January 2027.
The 'Leaf Fall' changes only affect trains on the Chiltern Railways Metropolitan Line Route (via Amersham) that run towards London. Northbound trains heading away from London are not affected.
Trains on the route via Amersham will leave Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Aylesbury, Stoke Mandeville, Wendover, Great Missenden, Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer and Chorleywood up to three minutes earlier than before, when heading towards London Marylebone.
CrossCountry
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
East Midlands Railway
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced yet. Please check back for any changes.
Elizabeth line
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Gatwick Express
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Grand Central
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Great Northern
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Great Western Railway (GWR)
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
Greater Anglia
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Heathrow Express
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
Hull Trains
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Island Line
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
London Northwestern Railway
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced yet. Please check back for any changes.
London Overground
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Lumo
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Merseyrail
To help maintain a reliable service during autumn, minor timetable changes will be introduced by Merseyrail on the Chester, Ellesmere Port and Southport lines:
Chester and Ellesmere Port Lines - Changes from Sunday 20 September
Trains from stations between Chester / Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead Central will depart at different times to normal and journey times may be extended by up to five minutes
Trains from Liverpool City Centre may arrive up to 5 minutes later at stations between Birkenhead Central and Chester / Ellesmere Port
Southport Line - Changes from Saturday 7 November
Trains from stations between Southport and Sandhills will depart up to 3 minutes earlier than currently scheduled
Arrival times into Liverpool City Centre will remain the same
Trains from Liverpool City Centre will depart at their usual times, but may arrive up to 3 minutes later at stations between Sandhills and Southport
The timetable changes will continue until Saturday 12 December.
Northern
Northern has leaf-fall timetables, with changes to journey times, for the following routes from Sunday 4 October until Saturday 12 December 2026:
N4 Newcastle – Hexham
N9 Blackpool and Preston – Colne, Leeds and York
N12 Manchester – Blackburn – Clitheroe
N20 Manchester – Buxton
N43 Huddersfield – Sheffield
The timetables are available to download from the Northern website.
ScotRail
From Monday 28 September to Saturday 12 December 2026, ScotRail will be making minor leaf fall timetable changes on a number of their routes:
Some services will see extended journey times by a couple of minutes on Fife, Borders and Perth routes
Some services will have altered calling patterns on the Fife, Ayrshire, Edinburgh - Helensburgh, Argyle line and Glasgow - Edinburgh routes
Some services will have minor changes to times on Aberdeen - Inverness route
Some services which run from Glasgow Queen Street Low Level and Glasgow Central Low Level will see a change to departure times from these stations
South Western Railway
From Sunday 20 September to Saturday 12 December 2026 South Western Railway are running an autumn timetable. There will be minor changes to train times, with services departing between one and five minutes earlier compared to the May 2026 timetable.
For example, the 06:21 service from Dorking to London Waterloo will depart at 06:20, while the 05:23 service from Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo will depart at 05:18.
The Journey Planner is up to date with all the changes made.
Southeastern
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced yet. Please check back for any changes.
Southern
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Stansted Express
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Thameslink
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
TransPennine Express
No leaf fall timetable changes are usually made.
Transport for Wales
No leaf fall timetable changes will be made.
West Midlands Railway
No leaf fall timetable changes have been announced yet. Please check back for any changes.
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