Travelling during the Christmas and New Year? Be in the know before you go!
Train tickets for travel over Christmas and New Year are on sale.
Whether you're visiting family and friends, heading to Christmas markets, enjoying festive days out or celebrating New Year, we're here to help you travel by train.
Most of our network will continue to operate throughout the festive period, although some routes will have amended timetables and improvement work taking place.
To help you plan and travel with confidence, please check your journey before you travel.
Don't forget, Northern services do not run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
For details of changes to operators across the country, visit National Rail.
Before you travel:
When travelling over Christmas and New Year, we recommend you:
- Book tickets in advance
- Check your journey before you travel
- Recheck on the day for any last-minute changes
- Check the time of your last train home
- Allow extra time if you're travelling through stations affected by improvement work
Discover festive destinations across the North
Best places to visit in December
Our pick of the best things to do in the North this December.
Christmas days out
Christmas markets, ice skating, shopping and more.
Trips between Christmas and New Year
What to do this 'Twixmas'? Walks, wildlife and more.
New Years Eve events
Enjoy dazzling light displays, fireworks and more.
Important dates
Many trains will run as normal throughout the festive period. The table below highlights dates where timetable changes or improvement work may affect journeys.
| Date | Journey information |
|---|---|
| 21-23 December | Normal timetables with some late-night and early morning improvement works. |
| 24 December | Last trains will be earlier than normal. There are no trains through Doncaster station. |
| 25 December | No trains run on Christmas Day. |
| 26 December | No trains on Boxing Day. |
| 27 December | Normal Sunday timetable. No trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Stockport until 1000. No trains between Stalybridge and Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Wakefield Kirkgate. |
| 28 - 30 December | Normal timetables with some late-night and early morning improvement works. No trains between Stalybridge and Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Wakefield Kirkgate. |
| 31 December | Last trains will be earlier than normal. No trains between Stalybridge and Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Wakefield Kirkgate. |
| 1 January | Trains may start later than usual, then run to normal timetables, except in parts of the North East where there are no trains. No trains between Stalybridge and Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Wakefield Kirkgate. Buses replace trains between Preston and Lancaster until 1345. |
| 2 - 3 January | Normal timetables with some late-night and early morning improvement works. No trains between Stalybridge and Huddersfield/ Brighouse/ Wakefield Kirkgate. |
Key route changes
The biggest changes over the festive period include:
- Routes in and out of Doncaster station on 24 December
- Routes in and out of Huddersfield station from 27 December to 30 January
- Manchester Piccadilly to Stockport/ Manchester Airport before 1000 on 27 December
- Preston to Lancaster before 1345 on 1 January
For further information about planned improvement work and events taking place across our network, visit our service updates page.
Support over Christmas
If you need help while travelling over Christmas, support is available on our website, at our stations and through the following channels:
| Date | Customer Experience Centre | Assisted Travel Support Team | Social Media |
Phone: 0800 200 6060 Email: [email protected] Online and using our website chat feature | Phone: 0800 138 5560 Text relay: 18001 Email: [email protected] WhatsApp: 0779 914 800 | ||
| 24 December | 0600 - 2000 | 24 hours a day (WhatsApp 0600-2300) | 0630 - 2000 |
| 25 December | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| 26 December | 0600 - 2300 | 24 hours a day (WhatsApp 0600-2300) | Closed |
| 31 December | 0600 - 2000 | 24 hours a day (WhatsApp 0600-2300) | 0630 - 2000 |
| Other dates | 0600 - 2300 | 24 hours a day (WhatsApp 0600-2300) | 0630 - 2200 |
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