No 2026 Christmas rail plan is out yet. Last year Chelmsford trains ran only to Stratford from 27 December to 1 January, and stopped by 10pm on Christmas Eve.

Greater Anglia and Network Rail have not yet announced the Christmas and New Year 2026 timetable or engineering works for the line through Chelmsford. In the last two years the announcement came in October, so expect it within weeks. Until then, the best guide is what happened last Christmas, when London Liverpool Street closed for eight days and Chelmsford’s London trains ran only as far as Stratford.

The quick answer

  • 2026 plan: not published yet. In 2025 Greater Anglia announced on 29 October; in 2024 on 10 October.
  • Last Christmas Eve, trains stopped by 22:00, with services thinning from 19:00. There were no trains on Christmas Day and none through Chelmsford on Boxing Day.
  • From 27 December to 1 January 2026, Chelmsford trains started and ended at Stratford, with Elizabeth line and Central line tickets accepted into Liverpool Street.

What happened over Christmas 2025/26

Greater Anglia set out the whole period in its travel advice, first published on 29 October 2025 and repeated on 19 December (Greater Anglia). For Chelmsford passengers it came down to this:

Date Great Eastern Main Line (Chelmsford)
Wed 24 Dec Early shutdown: reduced service from 19:00, all trains finished by 22:00
Thu 25 Dec No Greater Anglia trains
Fri 26 Dec No trains through Chelmsford. Only a reduced Stansted Express ran, from Tottenham Hale
Sat 27 Dec to Wed 31 Dec Revised service, starting and ending at Stratford
Thu 1 Jan Revised service to and from Stratford
Fri 2 Jan Liverpool Street reopened; revised service elsewhere on the network
Mon 5 Jan Normal service across most of the network

Liverpool Street was closed from 25 December to 1 January inclusive while Network Rail replaced roof panels and worked in the Bishopsgate tunnel. On the days it was shut, tickets were accepted on the Elizabeth line and Central line between Stratford and Liverpool Street, and on several other Underground lines.

The year before was similar, with one extra Chelmsford problem. Over Christmas 2024 Liverpool Street also closed from 25 December to 1 January, and buses replaced trains between Billericay and Witham on 27 and 28 December while Network Rail brought the third line through Beaulieu Park station into use (Network Rail, 21 October 2024).

How the 2026 dates fall

Christmas Day is a Friday this year and the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December (GOV.UK). New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027. Railway Christmas works usually run through the quietest days between Christmas and New Year, which this year is a single working week, Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December.

We are not going to guess whether Liverpool Street closes again. Network Rail started scaffolding for the roof renewal over Christmas 2024 and was still replacing roof panels over Christmas 2025, but until Network Rail and Greater Anglia publish, nothing about 2026 is confirmed.

Before you travel

  • Check Greater Anglia’s journey planner on the day you book and again the day before you travel. Replacement buses and retimings are loaded there first.
  • Tickets for Liverpool Street have been valid via Stratford on the Elizabeth line in both of the last two closures. Keep your ticket for the whole journey.
  • Driving instead? Our roadworks and travel page carries the A12 and city closures, and parking in Chelmsford has the car park prices.
  • Normal weekday timings are on our Chelmsford train times to London page.

What is still to be confirmed, and when

  • The 2026 Christmas Eve last trains. Expected in Greater Anglia’s travel advice, late October.
  • Whether Liverpool Street closes, and on which days Chelmsford trains run only to Stratford.
  • Any replacement buses on the Chelmsford line between 25 December and 3 January.
  • New Year’s Eve late running. Greater Anglia’s 2025 notice did not list extra late trains for Chelmsford.

We will update this page the day the plan is published.

Also on The Chelmsford Times

Sources