Forty-seven days before Christmas Day, Advance rail tickets are now on sale for the full festive season on the leading train operators.
The Independent has checked the booking options for the leading long-distance train operators for the key Christmas and New Year period.
LNER, which runs trains between Scotland, northeast England, Yorkshire and London King’s Cross, has just placed tickets for 21 December to 8 January on sale.
It joins Great Western Railway, which is already selling seats up to early February 2023 between London, South Wales and the West of England.
Overnight, Avanti West Coast has placed hundreds of thousands of Advance tickets on sale for dates up to and including 30 January. Weekend tickets are not yet availab;e.
Passengers hoping to travel on the train firm between London Euston, the West Midlands, northwest England and southern Scotland are warned that Network Rail engineering work between 26 December and 3 January will disrupt some services. On 27 and 28 December the line between Milton Keynes Central and Rugby will be closed, with a bus replacement service.
East Midlands Railway, connecting London St Pancras with Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, is selling tickets for Monday-Friday trains up to 27 January 2023. But weekend tickets are available only until 1 January.
Among other longer-distance operators:
- TransPennine Express has Advance tickets on sale only until Saturday 10 December.
- CrossCountry is selling tickets on its network, based in Birmingham, up to Christmas Eve.
- ScotRail is selling Advance tickets up to Friday 23 December.
Anytime and off-peak tickets can be booked many months ahead, but there is no advantage in doing so – they can be bought a few minutes before departure.
However, festive travellers could see their trains disrupted by strikes.
The main rail union, the RMT, is re-balloting members for further industrial action. This week’s strike has been called off but many trains remain disrupted.
Further strikes by the drivers’ union, Aslef, appear likely. Mick Whelan, the general secretary, said: “We remain in talks but no resolution is on the immediate horizon so we will have to keep fighting and making our point industrially.”
No trains will run anywhere in the UK on 25 December, and very few will operate on 26 December.
Rail campaigners have urged for Boxing Day services to be greatly expanded.
