Heading into, out of, or around London over Christmas?
Wondering which trains run between Christmas and New Year?
Find out all you need to know about transport in London over Christmas and New Year below. Bear in mind that services may shut down early on Christmas Eve — always check your specific service before your travel.
The below information is correct at time of writing, but do check directly with your transport operator before you set off.
Does the Tube run on Christmas Day? A guide to TfL services over Christmas
As usual, no TfL services run on Christmas Day. That's buses, Tubes, trains, trams, Elizabeth line, Overground, DLR, river boats, cable car, the works. Some transport will also finish early on Christmas Eve, so don't get caught out by that.
Santander Cycles are still available to hire on 25 December, and electric scooter hire is available in some boroughs. Some taxi services will also be running.
Aside from the Christmas Day mass shutdown, there are a handful of part-closures on TfL services including some Tube and London Overground lines and the DLR between Christmas and New Year, though disruption is fairly minor this year compared to previous years. Check the TfL Status Updates page to see what's closed when. Its Christmas and New Year travel page is worth bookmarking too.
Can you drive in London for free on Christmas Day?
The Congestion Charge (which applies to all vehicles driving within the Congestion Charge Zone) does not apply Thursday 25 December 2025- Thursday 1 January 2026, inclusive.
The ULEZ, which is the one that applies to the most polluting vehicles, does not apply on Christmas Day, Thursday 25 December. However, unlike the Congestion Charge, it is enforced every other day of the year, including Boxing Day through to New Year.
And finally, the LEZ, which generally only applies to heavy diesel vehicles and is separate from the ULEZ, applies every day of the year including Christmas Day.
The new fees for using the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels, introduced earlier this year, do not apply on Christmas Day, but do apply every other day over the festive period.
Unsure which applies to you? Check your vehicle on the TfL website.
Which railway stations are closed over Christmas?
As always, no National Rail trains run on Christmas Day, and only certain operators run a limited service on Boxing Day.
Waterloo is the big one to watch out for this Christmas, due to engineering works near Queenstown Road. In addition to the usual closure on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 December, it won't have any trains calling there on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December. Services will instead terminate at Clapham Junction on these days, but from there you can use your ticket on a Southeastern service into Victoria instead.
Due to the same engineering works, Queenstown Road station is closed Thursday 25 December 2025-Sunday 4 January 2026 inclusive (note that this includes the first working day of the year, Friday 2 January, for many people). Additionally Vauxhall station is closed Thursday 25-Tuesday 30 December 2025, and Thursday 1 January 2026, reopen as normal from Friday 2 January. Note that Vauxhall station will be open on New Year's Eve, presumably to help the crowds heading to the fireworks on South Bank.
Find full details of the Waterloo area works on the Network Rail website. Tube services at these stations are unaffected, and Southeastern services to and from Waterloo East appear to be unaffected too.
Elsewhere Liverpool Street station is closed between Thursday 25 December and Thursday 1 January inclusive, with no National Rail services running between Stratford and Liverpool Street during this time. Greater Anglia trains terminate at Stratford, and London Overground services at London Fields (note that the Elizabeth line is NOT affected). The reason for this is engineering work in the Bishopsgate tunnel, just north of the station, and works on the Liverpool Street station roof which will close the station concourse. More information on the Network Rail website. Tube services at Liverpool street are unaffected.
Services on the West Coast Main Line between Euston and the Midlands/North West England/Scotland are affected by engineering works between Saturday 27 December and Sunday 4 January, with journeys taking longer than normal. Details on that one here.
At Victoria, all lines used by Southeastern trains are closed due to engineering work, so Southeastern trains will not call at Victoria between Saturday 27 and Wednesday 31 December inclusive. Southern and Gatwick services at Victoria will still run but with an amended timetable so check before you travel. Victoria Tube station is unaffected.
No Southern trains will call at South Bermondsey between Saturday 27 December and Sunday 4 January inclusive, due to station refurbishment works.
See National Rail's Christmas travel page for more details on the above. Beyond this, check with your train operating company for details of what is (or isn't) running between Christmas and New Year. There are no trains running anywhere on Christmas Day, and most operators start winding down early (around 5pm — though it varies) on Christmas Eve.
Getting to and from London airports: Christmas
HEATHROW: No services Thursday 25 December. No Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express service on Friday 26 December. Use the Piccadilly line instead.
GATWICK: No Gatwick Express on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 December, an amended Gatwick Express service with a reduced timetable on Monday 29 December- Friday 2 January inclusive. No Southern service on Thursday 25 December, and amended services throughout the rest of the festive period.
STANSTED: No Stansted Express services Thursday 25 December. On Friday 26 December, Stansted Express services terminate at Tottenham Hale instead of Liverpool Street. Saturday 27 December-Friday 2 January, Stansted Express services terminate at Stratford instead of Liverpool Street. No Greater Anglia services on Thursday 25 or Friday 26 December. Trains to and from Liverpool Street terminate at Stratford instead, Saturday 27 December-Thursday 1 January.
CITY: No DLR service Thursday 25 December. No service between Shadwell and Tower Gateway Friday 26 December.
More information on National Rail's Christmas page.
New Year's Eve travel in and around London
Sadly, there's no free travel on New Year's Eve this year, but services do run through the night to help people get home after seeing in 2026. There's a special service on all Tube lines throughout the night, except the Waterloo & City, and the Kensington Olympia branch of the District line. Some stations closest to the NYE Fireworks action may close temporarily if they get too busy.
The Elizabeth line runs a special overnight service (not between Liverpool Street and Stratford) and there's a special overnight service on the DLR, trams and parts of the Windrush, Mildmay and Weaver lines on the London Overground.
On the buses, a Saturday night service runs on 24-hour routes — check your route for details. Do note that some buses will be diverted from about 2pm on Wednesday 31 December, as bridges and roads in central London close in preparation for the fireworks.
Full information available on the TfL New Year's Eve page.
Are there train strikes in London over Christmas?
At time of writing (early December 2025), there are no strikes planned on the railway network over Christmas 2024. All upcoming railway strikes are recorded on the National Rail website, so check that page before you travel for any changes.
Similarly, there are no planned strikes on TfL services, but this is the page to keep an eye on for any changes there.
