Book early for Christmas - when there are no trains again!

[whole diary]

[grahame]

http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/virgin-trains-book-early-for-christmas-train-travel/?

Virgin Trains: Book early for Christmas train travel

and later

Apart from 25 and 26 December when there will be no trains ...

I know we've done the "Christmas Trains" discussion before (and as I recall I felt it was unfortunate that there are no trains on 26th December) but it does still strike me as "smoke and mirrors" to be told to book early for Christmas train travel when there are no trains on Christmas!

[bobm]

Just as an aside within the last couple of days FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have released advance tickets up to and including 02 Jan 13.

[eightf48544]

Perhaps it should read "Book early for before and after Christmas travel, no trians 25th and 26th Decemeber.

Wonder what sort of service LOREL will be running over Christmas this year?

[thetrout]

Some of the Airport Trains (Heathrow Express springs to mind) run on Christmas and Boxing Day. I also believe a Sunday timetable runs on New Years Day

[bobm]

Heathrow Express is not showing on my iPhone app for Christmas Day - indeed it suggests would-be travellers should use the underground but I am not so sure that is running either!

Usually on Boxing Day FGW^▸ (First Great Western) run a bus from Reading which serves both Heathrow and Gatwick on the same trip.

[Brucey]

No Heathrow Express on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.  Instead a bus service will run every 15 minutes.

No Gatwick Express on Christmas Day.  Half-hourly bustitution.  On Boxing Day, a half-hourly train service will run, additionally calling at East Croydon.  Southern will also operate a few Brighton, Sutton and Croydon services.

A limited London Underground and DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway) service operates on Boxing Day.

As far as I am aware, no other rail services operate on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

[thetrout]

Hmmm. Interesting. Perhaps they aren't running the HEX trains this year due to Crossrail?

I thought they ran the airport trains on Christmas and New Years day. I know the Bristol Flyer RailAir service does (At least certainly on Boxing Day)... I've Caught it and stayed in a Premier Inn on Boxing Day for ^29 Best Bargin all holiday I suspect. Or perhaps my First Class London Waterloo - Westbury Ticket route WARMINSTER-SALISBURY I used ligitamately on an FGW^▸ (First Great Western) HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) Service

[bobm]

Out of the area I know - and Brucey may only been referring to around London, but there are usually train services in the Glasgow area on Boxing Day but then nothing on New Years Day (expect through services operated by other companies from south of the border).

[Brucey]

Out of the area I know - and Brucey may only been referring to around London, but there are usually train services in the Glasgow area on Boxing Day but then nothing on New Years Day (expect through services operated by other companies from south of the border).

It appears you are correct: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Christmas_2012/index_custom.html

[bobm]

That's interesting.  If you click on the Holidays and Events tab (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/index_custom.html) - you get "information available soon"!  So either the page Grahame linked to is a work in progress or someone has forgotten to link the page.

[thetrout]

Don't we get a December timetable change though, so maybe they haven't pulished it because the new timetables haven't been finalised?