No trains run between Slough and Paddington from 27 December to 3 January, and none on Christmas Day. Windsor's Slough shuttle and Riverside keep running.

No trains will run anywhere in Britain on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, and most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December either. Services on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve will finish earlier than usual (National Rail).

GWR has now published its Christmas engineering. No trains will run between Slough and London Paddington from Sunday 27 December to Sunday 3 January, and Paddington is also closed to all trains on the weekend of 28 and 29 November. The Slough to Windsor & Eton Central shuttle keeps running throughout (GWR). Our full report has each date and the replacement buses.

Updated 3 October: GWR’s Paddington closures for 28 and 29 November and 27 December to 3 January added. South Western Railway’s Christmas works for the Waterloo line are not published yet.

The quick answer

  • Christmas Day: no trains at all. Boxing Day: very few, and none named yet on Windsor’s lines.
  • Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and its train service is still to be confirmed.
  • Paddington line: no trains between Slough and Paddington, 27 December to 3 January. Replacement buses run from Slough. The Windsor & Eton Central shuttle to Slough keeps running.
  • Paddington closed on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November as well.
  • Waterloo line (Riverside): SWR detail not out yet. GWR’s notice says SWR will run Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside, with some trains diverted on 27 and 28 December.

Windsor’s lines at Christmas

Windsor has two stations on two different railways, so check both.

  • Windsor & Eton Central is the Great Western Railway shuttle from Slough, where you change for Paddington or the Elizabeth line.
  • Windsor & Eton Riverside is South Western Railway’s direct line to London Waterloo through Datchet and Staines.
  • Maidenhead has GWR and the Elizabeth line to Paddington, so it shares the Paddington line’s works.

Normal journey times and fares are on our Windsor train times to London page.

National Rail’s framework for 2026/27

National Rail’s festive guide covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027 (National Rail).

Date What National Rail says
Thu 24 Dec Earlier finish on many routes. Last-train guide due late November or early December
Fri 25 Dec No National Rail services
Sat 26 Dec Most operators run nothing; a very limited service by a few, to be confirmed
Mon 28 Dec Substitute Boxing Day bank holiday; services to be confirmed
Thu 31 Dec Earlier finish on some routes
Fri 1 Jan Some London routes run special trains after midnight; guide due early December

Operator pages for GWR, the Elizabeth line and SWR will be filled in “from the beginning of October onwards”. GWR’s own Christmas page still carried last year’s holding notice when we checked on 25 September (GWR).

What happened last Christmas, 2025/26

These were last year’s works, not this year’s. They show the kind of disruption Windsor travellers should plan for.

  • Waterloo line. Network Rail announced on 6 October 2025 that no trains would call at London Waterloo on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December 2025, with trains ending at Clapham Junction, then reduced timetables until 4 January 2026, while track near Queenstown Road was renewed (Network Rail).
  • Paddington line. On 21 October 2025 Network Rail said track renewal would leave only two of the four tracks into Paddington open from 27 December to 4 January, with an amended and busier timetable (Network Rail).
  • The year before was worse. At Christmas 2024 no trains called at Paddington from 24 to 29 December, and services turned back at Reading and Ealing Broadway (Network Rail).

Already booked for December 2026

National Rail’s engineering list runs about twelve weeks ahead, so it reaches mid-December but not Christmas yet. Two jobs on the Paddington line are already listed:

  • Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December: two of four lines shut between Hayes & Harlington and Slough. Elizabeth line and GWR trains run an amended service, and before 8am on the Sunday buses replace trains between Hayes & Harlington and Slough (National Rail).
  • Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 December, very early mornings: buses replace trains between Slough and Burnham or Taplow (National Rail).

Roads and parking

Road closures across the borough are updated weekly on our roadworks and travel page, and car park prices and the park and ride are on parking in Windsor. The council has not yet announced any Christmas parking offer for 2026.

Still to be confirmed

SWR’s engineering works on the Waterloo line over Christmas (last year announced on 6 October), the Christmas Eve last trains and New Year’s Eve late trains (late November to early December), the Boxing Day and 28 December services, bus operators’ festive timetables and any council parking concession. We will update this page as each is published.