No trains on Christmas Day and Birmingham New Street is disrupted 24 to 28 December. Last year's final London to Banbury train on Christmas Eve left at 20.36.
No trains will run from Banbury or Bicester on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December, and most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December either. The detailed Christmas timetables are not out yet. National Rail says operators will start publishing them from the beginning of October.
The quick answer
- Friday 25 December: no trains at all. Saturday 26 December: most operators will not run.
- Birmingham New Street has major engineering work from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December. Journeys through it will be “significantly disrupted”.
- Christmas Eve trains finish early. Last year the final Marylebone to Banbury train left at 20.36.
What National Rail has confirmed for 2026
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December to Monday 4 January. So far it says:
| Day | What National Rail says |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal |
| Friday 25 December | No National Rail services |
| Saturday 26 December | Most operators have no service; a very limited service from a few, details to be confirmed |
| Monday 28 December | The substitute Boxing Day bank holiday; services to be confirmed |
| Thursday 31 December | Services on some routes finish earlier than normal |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | Extra late trains on some London routes after midnight; list due in early December |
A guide to the last trains out of London on Christmas Eve is due in late November or early December.
Birmingham New Street: the one closure already named
Only one piece of Christmas engineering work has been named so far, and it affects Banbury. National Rail says Birmingham New Street will have major engineering work from Thursday 24 December to Monday 28 December inclusive, and that journeys “to, from or through” the station will be significantly disrupted.
Banbury’s CrossCountry trains to the north run through New Street. Anyone planning to travel to or through Birmingham New Street in those five days should wait for the detailed plan before booking. Chiltern’s trains use Birmingham Moor Street, a separate station, and are not part of that notice.
What Chiltern did last Christmas
Chiltern Railways has not published its 2026 festive timetable. Last year it announced the timetable on 18 December 2025, a week before Christmas. These are last year’s times, shown as a guide to the pattern.
| Day | Service |
|---|---|
| Christmas Eve | Early finish. Last trains from Marylebone: 20.02 to Birmingham Moor Street, 20.06 to Oxford, 20.36 to Banbury. Last train from Birmingham Moor Street to Marylebone 20.17 |
| Christmas Day | No service |
| Boxing Day | Two trains an hour, 8am to 9pm, Marylebone to Oxford Parkway only, calling at Bicester Village. Nothing at Banbury, Kings Sutton or Bicester North |
| 27 December to 4 January | Longer and extra trains between Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street. Kings Sutton served by replacement buses because the longer trains could not call there |
| New Year's Eve | The 00.05 Marylebone to Banbury was cancelled; extra trains ran to Banbury at 00.50 and 01.50 |
| 5 January | Normal timetable |
Three points from that pattern are worth planning around:
- Boxing Day trains served Bicester Village, not Banbury. If the same happens this year, Bicester Village is the only station in the district with a train on 26 December.
- Kings Sutton lost its trains for nine days. Passengers were carried by replacement bus from 27 December to 4 January.
- The last train home on Christmas Eve left London before 9pm.
Chiltern’s Christmas page is where the 2026 timetable will appear.
Buses: last year Banbury had none on Boxing Day
Stagecoach has not published 2026 festive timetables. Its 2025 Christmas summary for Oxfordshire shows what Banbury got last year:
| Day | Banbury services |
|---|---|
| Christmas Eve | Weekday timetable, with no departures after 6pm on most routes |
| Christmas Day | No buses |
| Boxing Day | No service |
| 27 and 28 December (weekend) | Normal timetable |
| 29 to 31 December | Saturday timetable |
| New Year's Day | No service |
| 2 January | Normal school holiday timetable |
On Christmas Eve last year several late journeys were cut short. The 18.30 route 500 ran only as far as Middleton Cheney and the 18.15 S4 only as far as Deddington. Oxford had special Boxing Day and New Year’s Day timetables on its main routes. Banbury had none.
Driving and parking instead
Cherwell District Council has not announced any Christmas parking offer for 2026. Its car parks normally charge on Sundays and bank holidays, and since 28 September there is an overnight charge too. The tariffs are on our parking in Banbury page, and current closures are on Banbury roadworks.
Still to be confirmed
- Chiltern and CrossCountry festive timetables: National Rail says operator pages will fill from the beginning of October. Chiltern’s own announcement came on 18 December last year.
- The Birmingham New Street plan: National Rail says more details will follow.
- Last trains on Christmas Eve: National Rail’s guide is due in late November or early December.
- Stagecoach festive bus times: not yet published.
We will update this page as each one lands. For normal services, see Banbury train times to London.
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