No National Rail trains run on Christmas Day 2026 and most TfL services stop. Boxing Day moves to Monday 28 December. What we know for Islington so far.

No National Rail trains will run anywhere on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026. Most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December either, and this year the Boxing Day bank holiday falls on a substitute day, Monday 28 December. TfL has not yet published its Christmas plans for 2026; last year it ran no service on most of its network on Christmas Day.

This page covers what is confirmed for travel in and out of Islington, what happened last year, and when the missing details are due. We read every source on 25 September 2026.

The quick answer

  • Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: no National Rail trains, and last year no Tube or buses either.
  • Boxing Day bank holiday is Monday 28 December. National Rail says which trains run that day is still to be confirmed.
  • Islington’s free Christmas parking vouchers covered four days last year, but the council has not yet said whether they return.

Trains from Islington’s stations

Islington’s National Rail services are Great Northern, at Finsbury Park, Highbury and Islington, Essex Road, Drayton Park and Old Street; Thameslink, at Farringdon and Finsbury Park; and the London Overground’s Mildmay, Windrush and Suffragette lines, at Highbury and Islington, Canonbury, Caledonian Road and Barnsbury and Upper Holloway. The station list is on our Islington tube and train times page.

National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 guide covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027. So far it says:

  • Thursday 24 December, Christmas Eve: train services on many routes will finish early. A list of last trains out of London will be published in late November or early December.
  • Friday 25 December: no National Rail services.
  • Saturday 26 December: most train operators will have no service; a very limited service will be run by a few operators, details to be confirmed.
  • Monday 28 December: the Boxing Day substitute bank holiday. Which trains run is to be confirmed.
  • Thursday 31 December: services on some routes will finish early. After midnight, several London routes will run special late trains into New Year’s Day, with a guide due in early December.

Great Northern’s own Christmas page on National Rail confirms no trains on Christmas Day and lists 24, 28, 30 and 31 December and New Year’s Day as days with details still to come. National Rail says operators will add their Christmas timetables from the beginning of October.

Engineering works. Network Rail has not yet published its list of Christmas works. The only major job named so far is at Birmingham New Street, from 24 to 28 December, which matters if you are heading to the Midlands from Euston rather than for local trips.

Tube and buses: what TfL did last year

TfL normally announces its Christmas services in early December. Its press release for 2025, issued on 2 December 2025, set the pattern. These are last year’s arrangements, not this year’s:

  • Christmas Eve: services ran but finished early.
  • Christmas Day: no service on most public transport, including the Tube and buses.
  • Boxing Day: no service on some parts of the network, including the Elizabeth line; the Tube, buses and trams ran a Sunday service.
  • New Year’s Eve: apart from planned closures, services ran all night. Some central London stations were closed at short notice to prevent overcrowding, and some central London buses were diverted from about midday.

Santander Cycles, taxis and private hire, Dial-a-Ride and Victoria Coach Station all ran on Christmas Day. The Congestion Charge was suspended from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day and resumed on 2 January; ULEZ applied as normal except on Christmas Day.

Islington’s Tube stations are on the Northern line (Angel, Old Street, Archway), the Victoria line (Highbury and Islington, Finsbury Park) and the Piccadilly line (Caledonian Road, Holloway Road, Arsenal, Finsbury Park), with the Elizabeth line and the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines at Farringdon. TfL’s major works calendar lists the Piccadilly line upgrade as ongoing through the autumn, so check planned closures before travelling on that line. Normal journey times and fares are on our Islington tube and train times page.

Parking over Christmas: last year’s rules

Islington Council’s Christmas opening times page still shows its 2025 arrangements:

  • Christmas Day: no parking enforcement.
  • Boxing Day and New Year’s Day: only 24-hour rules enforced, such as double yellow lines, footways, double parking, zig-zags, disabled and doctor bays, bus lanes, moving traffic and estate parking.
  • Other days between Christmas and New Year: all parking rules enforced, including extra match-day controls when Arsenal played at home.
  • Free parking vouchers: printed in the winter 2025 issue of Islington Life, valid in resident permit and shared-use permit bays on 27, 29, 30 and 31 December, but not on estates or in the match-day zones between 6.30pm and 8.30pm when Arsenal were at home.

The council has not yet said whether the vouchers return for 2026. Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday this year, with the bank holiday on Monday 28 December, the enforcement days will not match last year’s. Normal rules, permits and charges are on our parking in Islington page, and current road closures are on Islington roadworks and travel.

Other Christmas services

Still to be confirmed

  • Late November to early December: National Rail’s list of last trains out of London on Christmas Eve, and the Great Northern and Overground timetables for 24, 26, 28 and 31 December.
  • Early December: TfL’s 2026 Christmas service plan and any planned Tube closures, and National Rail’s New Year’s Eve late-train guide.
  • December: Islington Council’s 2026 parking enforcement days and whether free parking vouchers return.

We will update this page as each is published.