Practical
What is open in London on Christmas Day and bank holidays
On Christmas Day there is no Tube, no bus and no rail — none at all. Here is what genuinely runs on the closed days, what the law forces shut, and how to plan around it.
London has one day a year when the transport network simply stops. Most people discover this the hard way, usually at about 10am on 25 December with a suitcase.
This is the guide to the closed days: what runs, what does not, and which closures are choices and which are law.
The single most important fact on this page. On Christmas Day there are no TfL bus, Tube or rail services at all. Not reduced. Not hourly. None. If you need to move on 25 December, you are walking, cycling, or in a taxi or private car — and cabs are scarce and expensive. Plan it in November, not on the day.
Christmas Day, 25 December
Transport: nothing. No Tube, no bus, no DLR, no Overground, no Elizabeth line, no National Rail.
Large shops: closed by law. Shops over roughly 280 square metres must close. This is the same rule that governs Sunday trading, extended to Christmas Day, and no shop can opt out of it.
What is still open: emergency services, hospital A&E, some petrol forecourts and small convenience stores, a handful of hotels and restaurants serving pre-booked meals. NHS 111 answers as usual.
Road charges are suspended. Both the Congestion Charge and ULEZ are off on Christmas Day — the only day of the year both stop.
Practical consequence: if you must travel on 25 December, a car is the only reliable option, and the roads are the emptiest they will be all year.
Boxing Day, 26 December
Things restart, but partially.
- Reduced timetables across the network, with some routes closed
- No Night Tube and no Night Overground
- No Elizabeth line
- Most of the London Overground closed — the Mildmay and Windrush lines are the usual exceptions
- Large shops may open, subject to normal bank holiday rules
Boxing Day is also one of the busiest shopping days of the year on a substantially reduced transport network. Allow far longer than you think.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
New Year’s Eve: the Tube typically runs all night. It is not free — that used to be a thing and is not any more. Expect crowding, station closures around the centre for crowd control, and road closures near the river from late afternoon.
New Year’s Day: limited timetables across the network. It is a bank holiday, so shop rules apply.
The other bank holidays
Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, the two May holidays, the late-August holiday. These are far less disruptive, but two things consistently catch people out:
Large shops must close entirely on Easter Sunday. Not six hours — closed. Same rule family as Christmas Day.
Engineering work. Bank holiday weekends are when TfL and Network Rail do major closures, because passenger numbers drop. A bank holiday Monday is statistically one of the worse days to rely on a specific line. Check the status page before you travel, every time.
How to actually plan for the closed days
If you are travelling on 25 December: book a taxi weeks ahead, or arrange a lift, or accept a long walk. Airport transfers on Christmas Day are the classic disaster — there is no train and no coach at the usual hours. See getting to and from London’s airports at night, then assume the rail options do not exist.
If you need medicine: pharmacies are mostly closed. Use the NHS pharmacy finder in advance, and order repeat prescriptions the week before. 111 works all day. Full detail in finding a 24-hour pharmacy.
If you need food: buy on 24 December. Small shops and forecourts are the only realistic fallback, and they know it.
If something breaks: emergency trades charge bank holiday rates, and Christmas Day is the top of that scale. Gas emergency 0800 111 999 and power cut 105 both run as normal and cost nothing. Our sister site covers what a callout should cost if a door or lock is involved.
The one-line version
Christmas Day: no public transport at all, large shops closed by law, road charges off. Boxing Day: reduced, no night services, most Overground shut. New Year’s Eve: Tube all night, not free. Every other bank holiday: watch for engineering work.
Sources
- Transport for London — always the authority on the day
- Visit London — Christmas and New Year transport
- Londonist — what runs at Christmas
- Sunday and holiday trading law: why the big supermarket shuts at 4pm on a Sunday
Checked 11 September 2026. Timetables for a specific Christmas are published by TfL a few weeks in advance — this page describes the pattern, not a particular year’s schedule. Confirm before you travel.