No trains on Christmas Day, no Paddington trains from Reading 27 December to 3 January, and last buses around 8pm on Christmas Eve. Day by day for Wokingham.
The one Christmas rail closure that is already fixed for 2026 is the big one for anyone in Wokingham borough heading to London. Network Rail is rebuilding Dolphin Junction near Slough, and the work will affect train services to and from London Paddington from Saturday 27 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, after the usual shutdown on 25 and 26 December (Network Rail, Dolphin Junction upgrade). For Twyford, that is the direct line. For Wokingham, Winnersh and Earley, it removes the fast option via Reading and leaves the Waterloo line.
The rest is not yet published. National Rail’s festive guide covers 24 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 and says the operator detail, the last trains from London and the New Year’s Eve extras follow from late November. This page sets out what is confirmed, what last year looked like, and the dates to check back.
The quick answer
No trains anywhere on Friday 25 December. No Paddington trains between 27 December and 3 January because of the Dolphin Junction closure; Network Rail says alternative arrangements are being agreed. Trains on many routes finish early on Christmas Eve and on New Year’s Eve. Last year Reading Buses ran its Wokingham routes as a normal weekday on 24 December but the last lion 4 left Reading at 7.50pm and the last leopard 3 at 8.05pm; there were no buses on Christmas Day and a reduced 9am to 6pm service on Boxing Day. The 2026 bus timetables are due in November.
Trains: day by day, 24 December to 4 January
| Date | What is published |
|---|---|
| Thu 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal; do not assume the normal timetable |
| Fri 25 December | No National Rail services at all |
| Sat 26 December | Most operators run nothing; a small number run a very limited service, detail to be confirmed |
| Sun 27 December to Sun 3 January | Dolphin Junction closure affects services to and from London Paddington |
| Mon 28 December | Boxing Day bank holiday substitute; services to be confirmed |
| Thu 31 December | Services on some routes finish earlier than normal |
| Fri 1 January 2027 | Special late-night services on a number of London area routes after midnight |
| Sat 2 to Mon 4 January | Not yet detailed |
Sources: National Rail, Christmas and New Year 2026/27 and Network Rail, Dolphin Junction upgrade.
What the Paddington closure means station by station
Dolphin Junction sits between Slough and Langley, and Network Rail is replacing its eastern side over eight months so that trains can switch between the main and relief lines at 70mph instead of 40mph. It is a £27.8 million job with 88 pre-built track panels, and the bulk of the track work is timed for the 28 and 29 November weekend and the ten days after Christmas (Network Rail). Network Rail’s own page says alternative travel arrangements, including diversions, are still being agreed and will be posted there.
- Twyford: the only London service is GWR and the Elizabeth line to Paddington, so both closure dates matter. Expect changes on 28 and 29 November as well as from 27 December.
- Wokingham, Winnersh, Winnersh Triangle and Earley: the direct South Western Railway trains to Waterloo are on a different line and are not part of this work. The fast route, a change at Reading onto GWR, is what disappears. SWR’s own Christmas page was still showing last year’s arrangements on 25 September and its December engineering pages were not yet up (SWR Christmas and New Year services).
- Wargrave: on the Henley branch, which connects at Twyford, so the same Paddington caveat applies.
GWR has not yet published its 2026 Christmas plan. Its Christmas engineering page still said on 25 September that details had “yet to be finalised” (GWR). Trade reports in mid-September quoted GWR’s head of train planning saying the working plan is for most Paddington services to start and finish at Reading, with an hourly diversion to Euston for South Wales and the West; treat that as a plan until GWR prints it.
The Winter Carnival weekend
Sunday 29 November 2026 is the Wokingham Winter Carnival. It falls on the second day of Network Rail’s first Dolphin Junction weekend closure, 28 and 29 November, which affects Paddington services. Last year the council warned that trains were replaced by buses on carnival day because of planned maintenance (council news, 6 November 2025). Check the Waterloo line separately before relying on it that day.
Buses: what Reading Buses did last Christmas
Reading Buses runs the borough’s main routes: lion 4 and 4a between Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell, leopard 3 between Reading, Arborfield and Wokingham, orange 13 and 14 round Woodley, the little oranges 19a, 19b and 19c to Earley and Loddon Bridge, claret 21 to Lower Earley and the Winnersh Triangle park and ride 500. Its 2026 Christmas page is not yet published. Its 2025/26 page and route leaflets are still live and show the pattern it has used (Reading Buses, Christmas 2025).
| Day | lion 4/4a, leopard 3, orange 13/14, claret 21 | little oranges 19a/b/c, Winnersh 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Eve | Weekday service, early finish | Normal weekday service |
| Christmas Day | No buses | No buses |
| Boxing Day | Special service, roughly 9am to 6pm (lion 4a only, not lion 4) | No buses |
| 27 and 28 December | Saturday then Sunday service | Saturday service, then no buses on the Sunday |
| 29 to 31 December | Saturday service | Saturday service |
| New Year's Day | Sunday service | No buses |
| 2 January | Saturday service | Saturday service |
| 3 January | Normal service resumes | Normal service resumes |
The Christmas Eve last buses were the detail that caught people. From the 2025 leaflets: the last lion 4 from Reading to Bracknell via Wokingham left at 7.50pm and the last 4a at 7.25pm, with the last 4 back from Bracknell at 9pm (lion 4/4a leaflet). The last leopard 3 from Reading to Wokingham was 8.05pm and the last one back from Wokingham 9.05pm (leopard 3 leaflet). The last orange 13 to Woodley left Reading at 8.30pm and the last 14 at 8.05pm (orange 13/14 leaflet). Claret 21 ran extra late buses to Lower Earley until 11.27pm (claret 21 leaflet). The Winnersh park and ride’s last bus from Reading was 6.30pm (park and ride 500 leaflet).
On Boxing Day 2025 the lion 4a ran hourly from 9.12am at Bracknell, calling at Wokingham Broad Street from 9.30am and reaching Reading at 10.09am, with the last bus from Reading at 6.05pm.
Free festive buses, and no free parking
For the 2025 festive season the council made every local single bus journey starting in the borough free on seven days: Sunday 30 November (Winter Carnival), Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December (Woodley Christmas Extravaganza), and the weekends of 13 and 14 and 20 and 21 December. It was funded through the government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan and did not apply to park and ride or football shuttles; a return from outside the borough had to be paid for unless that area ran the same offer (council news, 6 November 2025). The council has not announced a 2026 offer. Last year’s was announced on 6 November.
The council’s festive help now goes on buses rather than car parks: its 2025 announcement offered free bus fares and said nothing about free parking. Council car parks charge on Sundays and bank holidays. Charges and the five car parks that stay free are on our parking page.
Roads
Barkham Road is closed for Thames Water’s trunk main until 13 November, and the Winter Carnival, the Woodley Christmas Extravaganza and the Twyford Christmas Fayre each close their town or village centre under the borough’s standing public events traffic order. Live closures are on our roadworks page.
Still to be confirmed, and when
- GWR and Elizabeth line Christmas timetables, including what runs from Twyford and Reading between 27 December and 3 January. Network Rail says diversions are being agreed; GWR says details are to be finalised. Expect them from late October.
- South Western Railway’s December engineering pages for the Waterloo line, which last year included work between Waterloo and Clapham Junction from 27 December to 4 January. Expect them in November.
- National Rail’s last trains from London guide for Christmas Eve, and the New Year’s Eve late services: late November or early December.
- Reading Buses Christmas 2026 timetables, including Christmas Eve last buses: last year’s page went up in November.
- The council’s free festive bus days for 2026: last year’s were announced on 6 November.
Related: Wokingham train times to London, roadworks and travel, parking in Wokingham, Christmas bin collections, Winter Carnival.
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