No trains from Chester on Christmas Day, and last year only Merseyrail ran on Boxing Day. Day by day from 24 December to 4 January, plus December works.
There will be no trains from Chester on Christmas Day, and on Boxing Day, which this year is Saturday 26 December, most operators will run nothing at all. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve trains finish early. Those points are fixed for 2026. Chester’s three main train companies, Transport for Wales, Avanti West Coast and Merseyrail, each did something slightly different last year, so this page sets out what National Rail has confirmed for 2026 and what each operator did at Christmas 2025.
The quick answer
- Christmas Day, Friday 25 December: no trains anywhere on the National Rail network.
- Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December: most operators run no service. Last year Merseyrail was the exception, with a special half-hourly Boxing Day service from about 9.30am to 7pm.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: trains finish early. Last year Transport for Wales began closing down from 9pm and Merseyrail’s last trains ran at about 8.30pm.
Day by day, 24 December to 4 January
| Date | Confirmed for 2026 | What Chester's operators did in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal | TfW closed down from 9pm; Merseyrail last trains about 8.30pm |
| Fri 25 December | No National Rail services at all | None |
| Sat 26 December | Most operators run nothing; a very limited service from a few, to be confirmed | TfW and Avanti none; Merseyrail special half-hourly service |
| Sun 27 December | Not yet detailed | TfW and Avanti started later than usual |
| Mon 28 December | Boxing Day substitute bank holiday; services to be confirmed | No equivalent last year |
| Thu 31 December | Services on some routes finish earlier than normal | TfW closed down from 9pm; Merseyrail last trains about 8.30pm |
| Fri 1 January 2027 | Not yet detailed outside London | TfW full mainline service; Merseyrail Sunday service; Avanti later start |
| Sat 2 to Mon 4 January | Not yet detailed | Engineering work on parts of the West Coast Main Line |
The 2026 column comes from National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary, which covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027. National Rail says each train company’s detail will start to be added “from the beginning of October onwards”, so the right-hand column will be replaced as the operators publish.
Operator by operator, from last year
Transport for Wales runs Chester’s trains to Manchester, Liverpool Lime Street, North Wales, Wrexham, Crewe and Birmingham. Its Christmas 2025 advice, published on 19 December 2025, said there would be no trains or replacement buses on 25 and 26 December, that services would start to close down from 21:00 on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and that trains would start later on 27 December. On New Year’s Day it ran a full mainline service.
Merseyrail runs the Wirral Line from Chester through Bache, Capenhurst and Hooton to Liverpool, and the branch to Ellesmere Port. It is the operator most likely to give you a Boxing Day train. At Christmas 2025 it ran every day except Christmas Day: last trains at about 20:30 on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, a special 30-minute Boxing Day service from about 09:30 to 19:00 calling at selected stations on each line, and a 30-minute Sunday service on New Year’s Day.
Avanti West Coast runs the direct Chester to London Euston trains. Its December 2025 advice said services would finish earlier on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and start later on 27 December and New Year’s Day, and that there would be major changes to journeys to and from Euston between 27 December and 4 January because of upgrade work between Rugby and Milton Keynes. It also lifted peak restrictions from 19 December to 4 January. Its Christmas Eve last-train table did not list Chester. For everyday times, see our Chester to London trains page.
Birmingham New Street shuts over Christmas
National Rail has already flagged one major closure for 2026: Birmingham New Street will have major engineering work from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December, and journeys to, from or through it “will be significantly disrupted”. That matters if you are heading from Chester to Birmingham, or changing there for the south west. The direct Avanti trains to London run via Crewe and do not use New Street.
Engineering work before Christmas
Two jobs on Chester’s lines are already booked for December, both at night:
- Monday 7 to Friday 11 December: no trains between Chester and Manchester Airport from about 21:30 to 06:00 each night. Replacement buses run between Chester and Manchester Piccadilly (National Rail notice).
- Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 December: the 22:02 Chester to Liverpool Lime Street and the 23:22 Liverpool Lime Street to Chester are replaced by buses (National Rail notice).
Nothing on Chester’s lines was listed between 19 December and 4 January when we checked National Rail’s engineering works on 24 September. Network Rail’s major Christmas works are usually published in the autumn, and that is the gap most likely to fill.
Getting into the city by bus
The council’s Park and Ride runs from Wrexham Road, Boughton Heath and Upton (Zoo) every 15 to 20 minutes, with the last buses between 17:00 and 18:45 depending on the site and the day, according to the council’s Park and Ride page. In December 2024 the council made Park and Ride free for the whole of January 2025. No Christmas late-night service or January offer has been announced for 2026. Car park prices and the free options are on our parking in Chester page.
Still to be confirmed
- Each operator’s Christmas and New Year timetable, which National Rail expects from October.
- Whether any operator serving Chester runs on Boxing Day, and what runs on the substitute bank holiday, Monday 28 December.
- Network Rail’s Christmas engineering work in the north west.
- Any Park and Ride Christmas late-night service or January offer.
We will update this page in late October and again in early December. For the rest of the season: Chester Christmas market, school term dates, and Chester roadworks and travel.
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