Put passengers first this festive season – communication is key

04 December 2025

For many people, the festive season brings a well-deserved break, family gatherings, and a surge in travel. Every year, thousands rely on trains to get home or away for the holidays. 

However, for the rail industry, this is a critical time to deliver maintenance and improvements for passengers. This leads to the challenge of keeping passengers moving during this time whilst engineering work is delivered.  

Our research shows that some passengers still get caught out by festive timetable changes. Engineering works, limited services and altered timetables, alongside some passengers who will be unfamiliar with the network can all mean the risk of confusion grows. Communication from operators is critical to get right. Any timetable changes need to be clear and provide real-time updates if things go wrong.  

If you’re travelling over Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026, there are some key rail service changes to be aware of: 

• London King’s Cross and Euston closures: major engineering works mean no trains will run in or out of King’s Cross or Euston on Christmas Eve with reduced services on 27 December. 

• West Coast Main Line: expect significant timetable changes between London and Manchester/Liverpool from 24–27 December due to track upgrades. 

• CrossCountry services: Limited trains on 27 December with some routes replaced by buses. 

• Scotland: ScotRail will operate a reduced timetable from 24 December through 2 January, with no trains on Christmas Day. 

• Great Western Railway: engineering work near Reading will affect journeys to and from the West Country between 24–29 December. 

• The Transpennine route upgrade will mean a closure of the route between Christmas Day and 2 January, with trains diverting via Castleford for a further three weeks after that. 

Alongside more familiar engineering works, from 14 December passengers on the  

East Coast Main Line will also see the biggest timetable change in more than a decade. This is set to provide more trains, thousands of extra seats and quicker journeys, as part of a wider set of timetable changes across the network. We will be monitoring how the new timetable is performing in practice to understand any emerging performance issues that may affect passengers.  

Staff visibility is important to passengers to offer practical support. They are key in offering practical help such as replacement or alternative transport and services, and advice on refunds and compensation. 

But why does all this matter? When information is missing or unclear, passengers feel let down – and this is where operators could build trust and confidence in advertised timetables. 

More information www.nationalrail.com or check individual operator’s websites.