More trains running on Boxing Day than in decades – but still only skeleton service

Exclusive: Three out of five say a proper service should run on Britain’s railways on 26 December

The first train to depart anywhere in the UK for more than 24 hours left London Victoria just after 5am, destination Clapham Junction, East Croydon and Gatwick airport.

Soon afterwards, another link aimed at airline passengers started up – between Stansted airport in Essex and Tottenham Hale in north London. The normal terminus in the capital, Liverpool Street, is closed for the day – along with most other major stations across the UK.

A handful of other services are running in England, mainly to, from and within London: from Victoria to Brighton plus some local South London trains; between Marylebone and Oxford; and Clapham Junction to Stratford on the London Overground.

In the Liverpool area, Merseyrail is running a “special service for some stations” including Aintree for the Boxing Day race meeting.

Despite a full football programme running – with matches including Manchester United against Birmingham team Aston Villa, and Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest – no long-distance links are running.

The only significant intercity service is between London St Pancras International and Continental Europe.

Starting at 8am, Eurostar is running a comprehensive service of 13 departures to Paris and eight to Brussels, with three continuing to Amsterdam via Rotterdam.

But connecting travel at St Pancras is difficult. While the London Underground is open, no East Midlands Railway, Southeastern or Thameslink trains are operating.

No rail services are running in Wales or Northern Ireland. The one nation with a significantly expanded Boxing Day rail service is Scotland.

Traditionally services in Scotland on Boxing Day have been restricted to a very small number, mainly in the Glasgow area.

On 26 December 2023, though, trains will also run to and from Perth, Dunblane and Glenrothes, and between Bathgate and Edinburgh.

Between the Scottish capital and Glasgow, passengers will have a choice of four trains per hour.

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “We’re operating our biggest Boxing Day service for many years. Thank you to everyone at ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland who will be working.”

In a social media poll on X, a clear majority of respondents voted in favour of restoring more trains on 26 December.

With more than 5,000 votes in so far, 57 per cent say the UK should emulate Continental Europe – where most countries run a near-normal service through the festive season – and operate a coherent rail network on 26 December.

Almost three out of 10 (29 per cent) say that trains should also run on Christmas Day. But over one-third (36 per cent) believe staff should have the day off.

Just seven per cent believe there is no demand for Boxing Day trains.

Long-distance coach operators – National Express, Flixbus and Megabus – are running near-normal services.

Cross-Channel ferry services have resumed from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk after the 25 December closedown.