No trains from Stafford on Christmas Day. Birmingham New Street has major works 24 to 28 December, and Boxing Day's bank holiday moves to 28 December.
There will be no trains at Stafford on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026. The bigger problem for Stafford this year is Birmingham: New Street station has major engineering work from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December, and National Rail says journeys to, from or through it “will be significantly disrupted”. Operators have not yet published their Christmas timetables, so this page sets out what is confirmed and when the rest is due.
The quick answer
- No National Rail services on Christmas Day, 25 December. Very few trains anywhere on Saturday 26 December.
- Birmingham New Street: major works Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December, disrupting Stafford’s trains to Birmingham and beyond.
- The Boxing Day bank holiday is Monday 28 December. Trains finish early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
What National Rail has confirmed
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027.
| Date | What National Rail says |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal. Its guide to last trains from London 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, details to be confirmed |
| Monday 28 December | Substitute Boxing Day bank holiday; services to be confirmed |
| Thursday 31 December | Services on some routes finish earlier than normal |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | Special late services on some London routes after midnight |
It says each train company’s Christmas plans will be added “from the beginning of October onwards”, and that full details of Network Rail’s major works will follow.
Birmingham New Street, 24 to 28 December
This is the one piece of Christmas engineering National Rail had named by 25 September. Two of the operators that serve Stafford run to New Street: London Northwestern Railway between Birmingham New Street and Crewe or Liverpool Lime Street, and CrossCountry between Plymouth or Bournemouth, Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly. Those are the routes National Rail lists through Stafford on its engineering notices. Which of their trains run from 24 to 28 December, and whether replacement buses will cover the gap, is not published yet. Check the Journey Planner before you book.
London and the North
For London, Stafford is served by Avanti West Coast to London Euston and by London Northwestern Railway, the operators National Rail lists for the line through Stafford. Neither has published its Christmas 2026 plan.
Last Christmas is the guide to the kind of work that happens. Network Rail’s release of 7 October 2025 closed the West Coast line between Milton Keynes and Northampton or Rugby from 24 December to 5 January, at Hanslope junction, so no trains ran between Milton Keynes and Rugby for the whole holiday. Further north it shut the line between Oxenholme and Carlisle from 31 December to 15 January and diverted trains around Preston from 1 to 5 January. That was last year’s programme, not this year’s.
Last year that announcement came on 7 October. If Network Rail keeps the same timing, the 2026 plan is due in early October, and we will update this page the day it lands.
Engineering works already booked before Christmas
National Rail’s forward list of engineering works already includes a reduced service between Stafford and Crewe on Sunday 8 November, Remembrance Sunday, affecting Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, London Northwestern Railway and Lumo. Nothing was yet listed for the Christmas period itself when we checked the list on 25 September.
Buses
Stafford’s local bus operators had not published Christmas 2026 timetables when we checked on 25 September. We will add them to this page when they appear.
Driving and parking
Our parking in Stafford page sets out the council car park charges, including Christmas Day. For roadworks over the holiday, see our roadworks and travel page. The Stafford Christmas market and bin collection changes are covered separately.
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