No trains run on Christmas Day and last year the Elizabeth line was shut on Boxing Day too. The first weekend to plan around is 28 to 29 November.

The rail industry treats Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027 as the Christmas period this year, and National Rail says train companies will add their Christmas timetables to its site “from the beginning of October onwards”. Until then, three things are fixed: there are no trains on Christmas Day, most companies run nothing on Boxing Day, and Christmas Eve finishes early.

Before that, there is one weekend in the Christmas shopping run when no Elizabeth line trains run through Ilford at all: Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November.

The quick answer

No National Rail trains run on Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December, most operators have no service. Last year TfL ran no Elizabeth line on Boxing Day, with a Sunday service on the Tube and buses.

Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November: no Elizabeth line between Shenfield and London, with replacement buses to Newbury Park for the Central line. Nothing is yet booked for the Christmas fortnight itself; the notices arrive from October.

What is confirmed for Christmas 2026

National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 page says:

  • Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December: services on many routes “will finish earlier than normal”.
  • Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: “no National Rail services on Christmas Day as usual”.
  • Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December: “most train operators will have no service”, with limited services from some.
  • Operator detail, including the Elizabeth line and Greater Anglia, follows from early October.

We checked National Rail’s list of planned engineering works on 25 September. It holds notices up to mid December, and none for the Ilford line between 24 December and 4 January yet.

Weekends to plan around before Christmas

These are booked and published by National Rail.

Date What happens Effect for Ilford
Sunday 15 November, before 10am No Elizabeth line between Paddington and Liverpool Street Trains run from Shenfield to the Elizabeth line platforms at Liverpool Street only; no through trains further west until 10am
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November No trains between Shenfield and London for the Elizabeth line or Greater Anglia No Elizabeth line at Ilford, Seven Kings or Goodmayes. Replacement buses run between Shenfield and Newbury Park station; rail tickets are valid on the Central line from there
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December No c2c trains to Liverpool Street None for Elizabeth line users; c2c passengers only

National Rail’s 28 November notice names Shenfield and Newbury Park as the replacement bus ends but does not list the stops in between. Check your own station’s signage that week.

What happened last Christmas

This is the best guide to what 2026 will bring, and it was published late.

  • Liverpool Street closed from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day. Network Rail announced on 20 October 2025 that the station would shut from Thursday 25 December to Thursday 1 January for roof and drainage work, reopening on Friday 2 January, with Greater Anglia trains diverted to Stratford from 27 December.
  • TfL’s Christmas plan came out on 2 December. Its press release said services would run on Christmas Eve “but will finish early”, there would be no service across most public transport on Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day there would be no Elizabeth line, with a Sunday service on the Underground and buses. Services ran all night on New Year’s Eve, with some central London stations closing at busy times.

So expect Network Rail’s big Christmas works list in mid to late October, and TfL’s festive timetable in early December.

Driving and parking over Christmas

Redbridge’s own car parks are free outside their charging hours and on bank holidays, in the council’s words on its car parks page: “if you park outside of these hours and on bank holidays it’s free.” This year’s bank holidays are Christmas Day, Monday 28 December (the substitute for Boxing Day, which falls on a Saturday) and New Year’s Day. The council has not announced any extra festive free parking, and we could not find that it did so last year. Car park by car park detail is on parking in Ilford, and road closures are on Ilford roadworks and travel.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Elizabeth line and Greater Anglia Christmas timetables, including the last trains on Christmas Eve: from October, on National Rail.
  • Any Christmas-period engineering works on the line through Ilford: Network Rail’s list is due in October.
  • TfL’s Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve plan for the Central line and buses: early December, on last year’s timing.

We will update this page as each lands. For the day-to-day timetable, see Ilford train times to London.

Sources