No trains on 25 December, a bank holiday on Monday 28 December, and last year Waterloo closed for two days. Last trains, engineering and bank holiday parking.
The festive rail period this year runs from Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027, and the shape of it is already fixed by National Rail: earlier last trains on Christmas Eve, nothing at all on Christmas Day, almost nothing on Boxing Day, and a substitute bank holiday on Monday 28 December whose train service is still to be decided. What is not fixed is South Western Railway’s own plan for the Richmond and Twickenham lines. Its Christmas page still carried the 2025/26 timetable when we checked on 25 September, and National Rail says operators’ pages will start filling from the beginning of October.
Last year the works were serious: Waterloo closed for two days between Christmas and New Year with every train terminating at Clapham Junction. This page carries what is confirmed for 2026, what SWR did last year on the Windsor lines through Richmond, and the council’s bank holiday parking rules. It will be updated when the 2026 plan is published.
The quick answer
- No trains on Friday 25 December. Saturday 26 December has no service from most operators and a very limited one from a few, still to be confirmed. Monday 28 December is a bank holiday and its service is also to be confirmed.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve finish early on many routes. Last year SWR’s last train from Waterloo round the Kingston loop via Richmond left at 9pm and the last Reading train at 9.20pm.
- After midnight on New Year’s Eve, extra trains run on London routes into the small hours of Friday 1 January. National Rail publishes the list in early December.
What National Rail has confirmed for 2026/27
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December to Monday 4 January inclusive and sets out the frame:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal. A guide to last trains from London is due in late November or early December. |
| Friday 25 December | No National Rail services. |
| Saturday 26 December | Most operators run nothing; a small number run a very limited service, details to be confirmed. |
| Monday 28 December | Substitute Boxing Day bank holiday. Services to be confirmed. |
| Thursday 31 December | Some routes finish early. |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | Special after-midnight services on a number of London routes; guide due in early December. |
Timetables in the journey planner are still being finalised, so National Rail’s advice is to keep re-checking a journey right up to the day.
What South Western Railway did last year
SWR’s Christmas and New Year page had not been updated for 2026 when we checked. The 2025/26 plan on it is the best guide to how the operator handles the Richmond and Twickenham lines, which it calls the Windsor lines, running from Waterloo through Clapham Junction and Barnes.
Christmas Eve 2025. Every service ended before 10pm. The last departures from Waterloo via Barnes were:
| Route | Last train from Waterloo |
|---|---|
| Waterloo via Richmond (Kingston loop, calling at Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington) | 21:00 |
| Reading (via Richmond and Twickenham) | 21:20 |
| Windsor & Eton Riverside (via Richmond and Twickenham) | 21:03 |
| Weybridge via Staines | 20:22 |
| Hampton Court (via Wimbledon) | 21:36 |
| Shepperton (via Wimbledon) | 21:12 |
Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2025. No SWR trains at all.
Saturday 27 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026. Network Rail renewed track, crossings and conductor rail between Queenstown Road and Nine Elms, so all lines between Waterloo and Clapham Junction were closed on 27 and 28 December and every train started and finished at Clapham Junction. On the Windsor lines, the Waterloo-via-Richmond loop ran three trains an hour but only between Clapham Junction and Kingston via Richmond, Reading ran two an hour from Clapham Junction, and some trains started and finished at Barnes while others diverted via Kingston and Twickenham. A reduced timetable then ran through to 4 January, with extra trains after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and a normal service resumed on Monday 5 January.
Whether Network Rail comes back to the same stretch this Christmas is the question that decides how bad the week between Christmas and New Year is for Richmond. There is no announcement yet.
The Underground and Overground at Richmond
Richmond is also the end of the District line and the Mildmay line. Transport for London publishes its own festive timetable separately from National Rail, and it was not out when we checked. Check the TfL status page before a Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve journey rather than assuming the normal timetable.
Parking over the bank holidays
The council’s bank holiday parking page, updated on 24 June 2026, applies on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, the substitute holiday on Monday 28 December and New Year’s Day. On those days you can park in marked controlled parking zone bays without paying or displaying a permit, except in the zones where charges include bank holidays:
- Zone A1, Richmond town centre
- Byfeld Gardens in Zone CB, Central Barnes
- Zone H, Hampton Court
- Part of Kew Road and Kew Gardens Road, Zone KA
- Zone KC, North Kew
- Zone M1, Vicarage Road, Teddington
- Zones Z1, Z2 and Z3: Elleray Road and Ferry Road in Teddington, Bracken Gardens in Barnes
- The Rugby Event Zone on a match day, and the North Kew event zone on its event days
Yellow lines stay in force throughout, as do disabled bays, dropped kerbs and CCTV enforcement of moving traffic offences. There is no rugby at Allianz Stadium on the bank holidays themselves, but Harlequins’ Big Game is pencilled for December; our Twickenham match day page has the fixture list. Everyday car park prices are on our parking in Richmond page.
Council offices and bins
Last year the council closed its offices on 25 and 26 December and 1 January and shut the contact centre at 2pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Only Christmas Day and New Year’s Day affect bin rounds, and both are Fridays this winter: see our Christmas bin collections page.
Still to be confirmed
- SWR’s 2026/27 plan and any Waterloo engineering, expected on its Christmas page from October and firmed up in November.
- National Rail’s last trains guide for Christmas Eve, due late November or early December.
- Boxing Day and 28 December services, and the New Year’s Eve after-midnight list, due early December.
- TfL’s festive timetable for the District line and the Mildmay line at Richmond.
Related: train times to London · roadworks and travel · parking in Richmond · Christmas bin collections
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