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Monday 6 Oct 2025

Travelling by train this Christmas and New Year? Remember to book ahead and plan your journey as improvement work means changes to trains on some major routes

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National

Over 95% of the railway network will be open for business this Christmas and New Year but more than £130m of major investment projects mean it will be important to plan ahead. Journey planners including National Rail Enquiries are up to date today (Monday, 6 October) with information to help you find your best routes and book tickets until 28 December.

For New Year's Day and the first week of 2025, journey planners will be updated next week (13 October).

Among the improvements taking place after Christmas Day and into the New Year are a bridge replacement over the M6 – closing the West Coast Main Line between Preston and Carlisle as well as the road -  and work on the lines between Leeds and York, around Cambridge, London Victoria and London Waterloo too.

Journey planners will give the best routes for passengers’ journeys during the period but booking ahead is essential as some lines will be very busy.

Network Rail’s Chief Network Operator Helen Hamlin said: “The period between Christmas and New Year is the quietest on the railway and it’s the best time for us to do the major projects that will take longer than a night or a weekend to complete.

"We work with train operators to organise diversions and rail replacement buses for passengers who are travelling but it’s still so important to plan ahead. That’s especially the case this year as we have some very big plans for improving the railway that will mean people may have to travel home on different routes after Christmas than the way they travelled out. 

“Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding and for planning ahead.”

Daniel Mann, Director of Industry Operations at Rail Delivery Group, said: "With Autumn officially underway, we’re encouraging customers to start thinking about travel plans for the festive period. Essential engineering works are taking place over Christmas and into the New Year, so it's important to check before you travel. 

"You can use National Rail Enquiries and journey planners to check for updates, and our Visual Disruption Maps — short videos designed to help people understand service changes and make informed travel decisions—will also be available in stations and online. 

"The industry is working hard to run as many services as possible, and we kindly remind our customers to remember to treat our railway colleagues with respect during this busy time, as they work to ensure a safe and reliable service for everyone. We also ask you to allow extra time for journeys between Christmas and the New Year."

Some highlights of that investment this Christmas:

• Replacing a junction at Hanslope on the West Coast Main Line means no trains between Milton Keynes and Rugby between Christmas Day and 5 January.
• Replacing a 1960s bridge over the M6 motorway means no trains between Preston and Carlisle, 31 December- 15 January
• Installing new signalling at Kingmoor, just north of Carlisle means no trains between Carlisle and Lockerbie from 1 January and 7 January
• Improvements by the Transpennine Route Upgrade around Church Fenton, Yorkshire, including signalling, track and power supply, means no trains between Leeds and York between Christmas Day and 26 January.
• Commissioning and testing a new signalling system to improve reliability and safety means no trains between Cambridge North, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Stansted Airport from Christmas Day until 5 January.
• Engineering work within Bishopsgate tunnel and work to refurbish the roof of London Liverpool Street station means no trains between Stratford and Liverpool St from Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• Renewal of worn out track and points around Queenstown Road, London, means no trains to or from Waterloo from Christmas Day until 28 December ,and a very limited service to Waterloo until 4 January.
• The installation of a new railway bridge at Bowling in West Dunbartonshire means no trains between Dalmuir and Balloch/Helensburgh Central, or between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich, 24 December - 2 January.

For timetable information and routes, please check with your operator or with National Rail.

Christmas and New Year engineering work follows the introduction of a new timetable this December, with changes across the network, including the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – the biggest change on the route in more than a decade. More information here.