No trains from Fleet, Winchfield or Hook on Christmas Day, and few on the 26th. SWR's 2026 plan is due from October; last year Waterloo shut for two days.

There will be no trains at all from Fleet, Winchfield or Hook on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, and most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December. National Rail has confirmed that much in its Christmas and New Year 2026/27 travel summary, which covers Thursday 24 December to Monday 4 January. What South Western Railway will run on every other day, including any engineering closures on the line to Waterloo, is still blank: its page on National Rail says “Information will be published when available” against every date except Christmas Day, and National Rail says operators’ details will start to appear “from the beginning of October onwards”.

The quick answer

  • Friday 25 December: no trains anywhere on National Rail.
  • Saturday 26 December: most operators run nothing, with “a very limited train service” from a few, still to be named. Monday 28 December is the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday.
  • Christmas Eve: expect an early finish. Last year SWR services finished “at around 2200”, and on 27 and 28 December no trains ran between Waterloo and Clapham Junction.

What National Rail has confirmed for 2026/27

Date What we know
Thursday 24 December Trains on many routes finish earlier than normal. A last-trains-from-London guide is due late November or early December
Friday 25 December No National Rail services
Saturday 26 December Most operators run no service; a very limited service from a few, to be confirmed
Monday 28 December Boxing Day substitute bank holiday; services to be confirmed
Thursday 31 December Some routes finish earlier than normal
Friday 1 January 2027 Special late services on a number of London routes after midnight; guide due early December

National Rail also warns of “lots of planned essential engineering works and upgrades” over the period. South Western Railway’s page was empty for every date from 24 December to 4 January, apart from Christmas Day, when we checked on 25 September.

What happened last Christmas

Until SWR publishes, last year’s plan is the best guide. SWR set it out on 15 December 2025, less than a fortnight before Christmas:

  • Christmas Eve: an amended timetable, with services “finishing earlier than usual, at around 2200”.
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no SWR services.
  • Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December: no services between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction because of engineering work. Trains via Wimbledon, which is the route from Fleet, Winchfield and Hook, started and finished at Clapham Junction. SWR suggested connecting to the District line at Wimbledon, or changing to GWR at Basingstoke for Reading and London Paddington.
  • Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 December: a reduced service on lines via Wimbledon, with Vauxhall and Queenstown Road (Battersea) closed.
  • New Year’s Eve: an amended timetable, with extra services from London Waterloo to Basingstoke, Guildford and Twickenham between about 1am and 5am for people coming home from the celebrations.
  • 1 to 4 January: a reduced service on New Year’s Day, and separate engineering work affecting services towards Woking and Reading on Sunday 4 January.
  • Monday 5 January 2026: the normal timetable resumed.

That was the 2025 pattern, not a forecast. Christmas falls a day later in the week this year, on a Friday, so plan on nothing until SWR’s 2026 details appear.

Parking and shopping in Fleet

Hart District Council has not announced any Christmas parking offer for 2026. Last year it made all its car parks free from 8am to midnight on Small Business Saturday, 6 December 2025, saying the campaign “takes place on the first Saturday in December each year”. Gurkha Square was the exception during the day, because it hosts Fleet Market every Saturday and is closed until the market clears in the late afternoon. (Hart District Council, 3 December 2025) If the offer is repeated, the first Saturday of December 2026 is the 5th.

Fleet Road closes for the Fleet Christmas Festival on Wednesday 25 November: road closure times, bus diversions and which car parks stay open are on our Christmas lights switch-on page. Everyday charges are on parking in Fleet.

Still to be confirmed

  • SWR’s Christmas and New Year timetable, which National Rail says will be added from October. We will check again in mid October and update this page.
  • Last trains from London on Christmas Eve and the New Year’s Eve late services, due late November or early December.
  • Any Hart Christmas parking offer, which last year was announced on 3 December.

Everyday times and fares are on Fleet to London trains, and road closures on roadworks and travel. Bins move over the holiday too: see Christmas bin collections. School dates for the Christmas break are on Fleet school term dates.