No SWR trains on 25 or 26 December, last Waterloo train about 10pm on Christmas Eve, and the Reading line is off this year's engineering list. Day by day.

Bracknell has one railway line, South Western Railway’s route from Reading to London Waterloo through Ascot and Staines. South Western Railway has now published its Christmas timetable, and the main news is better than last year: Waterloo stays open. Last Christmas the London end of the line was shut for two days.

The quick answer

There are no South Western Railway trains on Christmas Day or Saturday 26 December. On Christmas Eve the last train leaves Waterloo around 10pm. Trains start later on Sunday 27 December (first from Waterloo 6.14am) and a Saturday service runs on Monday 28, Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December. On New Year’s Eve the last train leaves Waterloo before midnight, with extra trains from 1am to 4.45am into New Year’s Day. The Reading line is not on SWR’s list of routes changed by engineering work this year.

Updated 20 October: South Western Railway’s 2026/27 Christmas timetable is out; this page now carries it.

South Western Railway’s Christmas 2026 timetable

This is what SWR has published for each day (National Rail, South Western Railway Christmas and New Year):

  • Thursday 24 December: services finish early. The last train leaves London Waterloo around 22:00.
  • Friday 25 December: no trains.
  • Saturday 26 December: no South Western Railway trains at all.
  • Sunday 27 December: services start later, with the first train from Waterloo at 06:14. Engineering work changes several routes.
  • Monday 28 December (the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday): a Saturday level of service, subject to engineering work.
  • Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December: a Saturday level of service.
  • Thursday 31 December: services finish early, with the last train from Waterloo before midnight. Waterloo runs a queuing system because of the Mayor of London’s fireworks.
  • Friday 1 January: extra trains leave Waterloo between 01:00 and 04:45. Normal departures resume at 06:20 and a Sunday service runs for the day.
  • Monday 4 January: normal service.

What the engineering work does and does not touch

On 27 and 28 December, SWR lists changes to the Weymouth, Salisbury, Portsmouth, Chessington, Dorking, Hampton Court and Guildford routes, plus the Kingston loop and the Hounslow loop. Queenstown Road station is closed on both days, and Earlsfield on the 28th. The Waterloo to Reading line through Bracknell is not on that list. That is the opposite of last year, when no trains ran between Waterloo and Clapham Junction on those two days.

Two changes sit close to the Bracknell line without being on it. Trains between Waterloo and Richmond via Hounslow stop after 12:00 on both days, and on the 28th buses replace trains between Clapham Junction and Surbiton via Wimbledon. Neither route is the one Bracknell trains use.

SWR still warns that timetables can change. Check your own train in the National Rail journey planner in the week you travel.

What last year looked like on the Bracknell line

For comparison, this is how South Western Railway ran the Reading line last Christmas, from its 2025/26 Christmas page (South Western Railway, Christmas and New Year services):

  • Engineering work between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction ran from Saturday 27 December 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026, affecting both the main line via Wimbledon and the Windsor lines via Barnes, which is the route Bracknell trains use.
  • On 27 and 28 December there were no trains between Waterloo and Clapham Junction at all. Reading line services started and finished at Clapham Junction on an amended timetable.
  • Christmas Eve services ended early, with most Waterloo departures finished before 10pm.
  • Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no services on the whole SWR network.
  • New Year’s Eve: a revised service, with extra trains from Waterloo after midnight running from 1.20am through to 4.45am.
  • New Year’s Day: a reduced service, with everything via Barnes still starting and finishing at Clapham Junction.

That work was on track, switches and crossings, signalling and power supplies at Queenstown Road. This year’s published timetable does not repeat the Waterloo closure.

Getting to London on the days that matter

For the normal timetable, first and last trains and journey times from Bracknell to Waterloo and Reading, see our train times page. For your specific train, use the National Rail journey planner, which carries warning symbols on affected journeys, and keep checking up to the day.

Buses

Thames Valley Buses, whose last change to its Bracknell and Wokingham services was on 2 August, had not published any Christmas or New Year timetable when we checked its news page on 25 September (Thames Valley Buses, news). Operators usually post festive timetables in early December. We will add them here.

Parking over Christmas

Bracknell Forest Council’s town centre parking page lists its five car parks and payment methods but no festive offer or free-parking days (Bracknell Forest Council, Bracknell town centre parking). The Lexicon’s own car parks are separate. Our parking page has the tariffs; if the council or The Lexicon announces a Christmas concession we will note it there and here.

What is still to be confirmed, and when

  • Exact last trains from Bracknell on Christmas Eve: SWR gives only the Waterloo cut-off (around 22:00) so far. National Rail’s last-trains guide follows in late November or early December.
  • New Year’s Eve late trains: National Rail’s guide, early December.
  • Bus timetables: Thames Valley Buses, expected December.

More Bracknell information