South Western Railway has not published its Christmas 2026 plan. Last year: no trains on 25 or 26 December, last Waterloo departures about 9pm Christmas Eve.
South Western Railway has not yet published its Christmas and New Year 2026 timetable. Its Christmas travel page still shows last winter’s plan, and National Rail lists no festive engineering work on the lines through Elmbridge so far.
What follows is what is confirmed for this autumn, and what happened last Christmas as a guide to the shape of the service.
The quick answer
- No Christmas 2026 plan is published yet. We checked South Western Railway and National Rail on 28 September
- Last year no SWR trains ran on 25 or 26 December, and services ended before 10pm on Christmas Eve
- Two closures are already booked before Christmas: buses replace trains between Clapham Junction and Surbiton on Sunday 15 November, and Cobham line trains start from Surbiton on Sunday 13 December
Which trains this covers
Every station in the borough is served by South Western Railway out of London Waterloo:
- Main line: Esher, Hersham, Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge, on the stopping services towards Woking and Basingstoke
- Cobham line: Hinchley Wood, Claygate, Oxshott, and Cobham and Stoke d’Abernon, on the Guildford via Cobham service
- Hampton Court branch: Thames Ditton and Hampton Court
Booked before Christmas
Sunday 15 November. National Rail says engineering work between Clapham Junction and Surbiton will close all lines. Buses replace trains between Clapham Junction and Surbiton, Hampton Court, Weybridge and Effingham Junction, which takes in every Elmbridge station.
Sunday 13 December. South Western Railway’s December works page says the lines between Clapham Junction and Barnes are closed all day. As a result, Guildford via Cobham trains “will be revised and will start from Surbiton”, and the stopping service to Guildford via Woking is also revised.
That page currently stops at 13 December. Nothing is listed for the weeks either side of Christmas.
Last Christmas, as a pattern only
These are last year’s arrangements, not this year’s. They come from South Western Railway’s Christmas and New Year services page, which had not been updated when we read it.
Christmas Eve 2025: last trains from Waterloo
Services ended before 10pm. The last departures from London Waterloo on the routes through Elmbridge were:
| Route | Elmbridge stations | Last departure |
|---|---|---|
| Basingstoke (stopping) | Main line | 21:42 |
| Hampton Court | Thames Ditton, Hampton Court | 21:36 |
| Woking (stopping) | Main line | 21:20 |
| Guildford via Cobham | Hinchley Wood, Claygate, Oxshott, Cobham | 21:03 |
| Weybridge via Staines | Weybridge | 20:22 |
South Western Railway’s table gives the route, not the calling points, so check whether a given train stops at your station.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day
“There will be no services on the SWR network,” the operator said of both days.
27 December to 4 January
Last year’s service was shaped by a nine-day closure between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction, from Saturday 27 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026. That was a one-off project and there is no sign yet of a repeat.
| Day | Guildford via Cobham | Hampton Court | Woking (stopping) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 27 and Sun 28 Dec | Hourly, from Clapham Junction | Two an hour, from Surbiton | Hourly, from Clapham Junction |
| Mon 29 and Tue 30 Dec | Hourly, from Waterloo | Two an hour, from Surbiton | Two an hour, from Waterloo |
| Wed 31 Dec | Two an hour, from Waterloo | Two an hour, from Waterloo | Two an hour, from Waterloo |
| Thu 1 Jan | Hourly, from Waterloo | Two an hour, from Surbiton | Two an hour, from Waterloo |
The Hampton Court branch was the worst affected. On five of those six days its trains ran only as far as Surbiton, so every journey to London needed a change.
New Year’s Eve
Extra trains left Waterloo after midnight last year, including stopping services to Basingstoke at 01:35, 02:10 and 03:10, which run along the main line through the borough. No after-midnight trains were listed for the Cobham line or Hampton Court.
Parking if you drive instead
Elmbridge Borough Council made 22 of its car parks free on the three Saturdays before Christmas last year: 6, 13 and 20 December 2025. Commuter car parks were excluded.
The council announced that in its Love Elmbridge at Christmas guide, published on 10 November 2025. No 2026 offer has been announced. Bank holidays are free in the council’s car parks in any case, as our parking in Elmbridge page sets out.
Buses
We could find no Christmas 2026 timetable from the bus operators serving the borough as of 28 September. This page will carry them once they are published.
What is still to come
- South Western Railway’s Christmas plan. We expect it during the autumn and will check again in late October
- National Rail’s festive engineering notices for Waterloo, Clapham Junction and Surbiton
- Bus timetables and the council’s Christmas parking announcement, which last year came on 10 November
For the normal timetable and fares, see Elmbridge train times to London. Road closures are on our roadworks and travel page.
Sources
- Christmas and New Year services, South Western Railway, read 28 September 2026 and still showing the 2025 to 2026 plan
- December engineering work, South Western Railway, for Sunday 13 December
- South Western Railway to, from and via Wimbledon, National Rail, for Sunday 15 November
- Love Elmbridge at Christmas 2025, Elmbridge Borough Council, for last year’s free parking
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