Planning a trip to or from London over the festive period? Wondering which trains, tubes and buses are running in the city over Christmas and New Year? Here’s what you need to know
If you are expecting to use public transport in London between Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026, you’ll need to be aware of the changing schedules. As well as a series of national holidays during this period which see most Transport for London (TfL) services either reduced or stopped altogether, there’ll be planned engineering works across a number of Tube and bus lines which may affect your journeys.
Keep reading for key info about public transport in London during the Christmas and New Year holidays, as well as advice on travel alternatives and updates on National Rail services and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charges.
Tube schedules for Christmas and New Year 2025
According to the TfL website, we can expect planned work, closures and service changes to affect Tube journeys between Sat 20th December 2025 and Mon 5th January 2026.
There will be a reduced Tube service on Christmas Eve (Weds 24th December) 2025 from around 7pm and no Tube service on Christmas Day (Thurs 25th December) 2025.
On Boxing Day (Fri 26th December) 2025, Tubes will be running a reduced service. There will be no night Tube, night Overground or Elizabeth Line services running.
On New Year’s Eve (Weds 31st December) 2025, Tubes will be running all night but travel won’t be free. Bear in mind that, because of the New Year’s Eve fireworks, many Central London stations will be busier than usual and may be exit or interchange only.
On New Year’s Day (Thurs 1st January) 2026, Tubes, the Overground and the Elizabeth Line will be running a reduced service.
Will there be any public transport in London on Christmas Day 2025?
Most public transport services won’t run on Christmas Day 2025. Here’s a full list of services that will not be running on Thurs 25th December 2025:
- Tube
- Buses (including Night Buses)
- London Overground (including Night Overground)
- Elizabeth line
- DLR
- Trams
- River buses
- IFS Cloud Cable Car
- National Rail
- Woolwich Ferry
If you need to travel around the city on Christmas Day, it’s advised you book a taxi in advance. You can also opt for a Santander Cycle or an electric scooter rental (only available in certain boroughs).
Information about national rail services in London over Christmas and New Year
According to the National Rail website, there will be engineering works and upgrades taking place over Christmas and New Year. This will cause disruption on many routes between Tues 23rd December 2025 and Fri 2nd January 2026. This includes engineering works at Liverpool Street Station where no trains, apart from the Elizabeth Line, will run to or from the main station (from Sat 27th December 2025 – Thurs 1st January 2026), meaning Greater Anglia services will start and end at Stratford, and Overground services will start and end at London Fields. On Sat 27th and Sun 28th December 2025, no trains will run to or from Waterloo and Vauxhall, meaning trains will start and end from Clapham Junction and other stations. A limited service will run to and from Waterloo from Mon 29th December 2025 – Fri 2nd January 2026 due to renewal works at Queenstown Road.
There may also be short-notice disruptions, so it’s advised that you check your journey before travelling.
Find more information on specific National Rail journeys to and from London this Christmas and New Year below:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- Caledonian Sleeper
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Elizabeth line
- Gatwick Express
- Grand Central
- Great Northern
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- Heathrow Express
- Hull Trains
- Island Line
- LNER
- London Northwestern Railway
- London Overground
- Lumo
- Merseyrail
- Northern
- ScotRail
- South Western Railway
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Stansted Express
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- Transport for Wales
- West Midlands Railway
Will there be Tube or train strikes over Christmas and New Year?
At the time of writing there is no planned industrial action over the festive period.
Will ULEZ be affected over Christmas and New Year 2025?
Yes, according to the TfL website, you won’t be charged to usual fee if you drive into the ULEZ on Christmas Day (Thurs 25th December) 2025. You also won’t be charged for crossing the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels on Christmas Day either. Plus, you won’t have to pay the Congestion Charge between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day bank holiday (inclusive).
For more information, check the TfL website.
