No trains on Christmas Day and few on the 26th. SWR's timetable for 24 December to 4 January is due from October; last year Waterloo shut for two days.

There will be no trains at all from Basingstoke on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, and most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December. That much National Rail has confirmed in its Christmas and New Year 2026/27 travel summary, which covers Thursday 24 December to Monday 4 January. What South Western Railway and Great Western Railway will run on the other days, including any engineering closures, is still blank: both operators’ pages say “Information will be published when available”, and National Rail says operator details will be added “from the beginning of October onwards”.

The quick answer

  • Friday 25 December: no trains anywhere on National Rail.
  • Saturday 26 December: most operators run nothing, with “a very limited train service” from a few, details to come. Monday 28 December is the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday.
  • Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: expect earlier last trains. Last year SWR’s final departures from London Waterloo left before 10pm on Christmas Eve.

What National Rail has confirmed for 2026/27

Date What we know
Thursday 24 December Trains on many routes finish earlier than normal. A last-trains-from-London guide is due late November or early December
Friday 25 December No National Rail services
Saturday 26 December Most operators run no service; a very limited service from a few, to be confirmed
Monday 28 December Boxing Day substitute bank holiday; services to be confirmed
Thursday 31 December Some routes finish earlier than normal
Friday 1 January 2027 Extra late services on some London routes after midnight; guide due early December

National Rail also lists major engineering work at Birmingham New Street from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December. The per-operator pages for South Western Railway and Great Western Railway were both empty for every date from 24 December to 4 January when we checked on 25 September.

What happened last Christmas

The best guide until SWR publishes is last year’s. The SWR page on National Rail, as archived on 28 November 2025, showed this for Basingstoke passengers:

  • Christmas Eve: an early shutdown, with the last services from London Waterloo departing before 22:00.
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no SWR trains at all.
  • Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December: no trains between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction because of engineering work. Exeter services started from Basingstoke. On the Sunday, Waterloo to Basingstoke and Alton trains ran hourly, starting from Clapham Junction.
  • Monday 29 to Wednesday 31 December: “a reduced and amended service” to and from Waterloo. Basingstoke stopping trains and Alton trains ran joined together as far as Woking and divided there, hourly on the 29th and 30th.

National Rail says “a considerable number of engineering and improvement projects” will be carried out at Christmas and New Year, so a closure somewhere on the line to London between Christmas and New Year is a reasonable thing to plan around until SWR says otherwise.

Engineering work already booked before Christmas

One closure is already published. From Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 November 2026, all lines between Basingstoke and Winchester close overnight, from Monday evening until Thursday morning. National Rail’s notice says that after 22:20 each night buses replace trains between Basingstoke and Southampton Central via Winchester, and some Waterloo to Bournemouth and Weymouth trains run via Havant.

Parking and shopping

The council has not yet announced any Christmas parking offer for 2026. Last year it made its town centre car parks free for Small Business Saturday, from 8am on Saturday 6 December to 8am on Sunday 7 December 2025, according to its release of 17 November 2025. The town centre also closes six streets for the lights switch-on on 20 November: see our Christmas lights switch-on page, and parking in Basingstoke for charges.

Still to be confirmed

  • SWR and GWR Christmas timetables, due on National Rail from October.
  • Last trains from London on Christmas Eve, due late November or early December.
  • Any Christmas parking offer from the council, which last year came in mid November.

For everyday times and fares see Basingstoke train times to London; for road closures, roadworks and travel. Bins move over the holiday too: see Christmas bin collections.