Practical
Christmas Day London 2026: What’s Open and Tube
On this page
The short answer
Friday 25 December 2026: there are no National Rail trains anywhere, and large shops (over 280 m²) are closed by law. TfL has not published its 2026 plan yet; last year it ran no service across most public transport, with Santander Cycles, taxis and Dial-a-Ride still operating. ULEZ and the Congestion Charge are both off. Book a taxi ahead, buy food and medicine by the 24th, and check the NHS pharmacy rota before you need it.
Christmas Day 2026 is Friday 25 December. It is the one day of the year when London’s transport network almost completely stops, and when the law closes the big shops. Most people find this out at about 10am, with a suitcase.
This page tells you what still works, what does not, and which closures are law rather than choice. Every fact is dated, because some of it changes every year.
The fact that catches people out. There are no National Rail trains at all on Christmas Day, and TfL runs no service across most public transport. If you need to cross London on the 25th, plan it now: a taxi booked well ahead, a lift, a hire bike or a long walk.
Every day from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day, with what is confirmed for 2026: the Christmas-week board.
At a glance — Friday 25 December 2026
| National Rail trains | None, anywhere | Not reliable |
| Tube, buses, DLR, Overground, trams | No service across most of the network | Not reliable |
| Santander Cycles, taxis, Dial-a-Ride | Operating | Usually |
| Large shops (over 280 m²) | Closed by law | Always |
| Pharmacies | A commissioned few, by borough | Check live |
| ULEZ and Congestion Charge | Both off | Always |
| 999, A&E, NHS 111 | As normal | Always |
Transport: almost nothing
Trains. National Rail says there will be no National Rail services on Christmas Day in 2026, as in every year. That includes every airport rail link.
TfL. TfL’s Christmas plan for 2026 is normally published in early December. In 2025 it said there would be no service across most public transport on Christmas Day, with Santander Cycles, taxis and Dial-a-Ride still operating. We will replace this paragraph with TfL’s 2026 wording as soon as it is published.
What that means in practice:
- Book a taxi or minicab well ahead rather than counting on finding one on the day.
- Santander Cycles run, which makes a hire bike the only public transport option for many journeys.
- Airport journeys are the classic disaster. Flights operate, but there is no train to reach them. Arrange a car. See London airports at night for the usual options, then assume the rail ones do not exist on the 25th.
- Two road charges are off (below).
Road charges: both off
- ULEZ operates every day of the year except Christmas Day.
- The Congestion Charge is not charged from Christmas Day to the New Year’s Day bank holiday, inclusive — so from Friday 25 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027.
Christmas Day is the only day of the year when both stop.
Shops: large ones closed by law
The Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 says, in full: “A large shop must not be open on Christmas Day for the serving of retail customers.” A large shop is one with a sales floor over 280 square metres. It applies in England and Wales.
It does not apply to the same shop types exempt from Sunday trading rules, including:
- registered pharmacies, for medicines and medical appliances
- petrol filling stations
- shops at railway stations and airports
- farm shops, off-licences, and motor and cycle supply shops
Small shops may legally open. Whether they do is their choice, so check the one you have in mind. The corner shop and the petrol forecourt are the realistic Christmas Day options — ring first, because holiday hours rarely match what Google Maps shows.
Buy on the 24th. Christmas Eve 2026 is a Thursday, and trains on many routes finish early that day too.
Pharmacies: a rota, published by the NHS
Community pharmacies are not required to open on bank holidays, so London’s Integrated Care Boards pay a small number to open. NHS England London publishes the list, borough by borough, with each pharmacy’s Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day hours. The 2024/25 edition appeared in November; the 2026/27 one should follow the same timetable, and we will link it here.
Until then:
- Order repeat prescriptions in mid-December, not on the 23rd.
- On the day, use the NHS pharmacy finder with its “open now” filter, or ring 111, which knows the rota.
- A pharmacist can treat some conditions without a GP under Pharmacy First — see how to find a pharmacy open now.
Food
If you want a restaurant on Christmas Day, book. Do not plan on walking in — check the venue’s own site for whether it is open and what it is serving.
The ordinary night-time rules still apply: hot food after 11pm needs a licence and cold food does not. The full explanation is in where to eat in London after midnight.
What is different on Christmas Day
- No trains and almost no TfL. Your normal route home does not exist.
- Big shops are shut by law, not by choice. Station and airport shops are the exception.
- Pharmacies open on a rota the NHS commissions, not on their normal hours.
- Online opening hours can show a normal day. Check with the business itself before you travel.
- A booked taxi or a hire bike may be the only way across town.
If something goes wrong
- 999 for an emergency; A&E is open as normal.
- NHS 111 answers all day, for medical advice and for the pharmacy rota.
- Gas leak or carbon monoxide: 0800 111 999. Power cut: 105. Both run as normal and are free.
- Expect emergency trades to charge holiday rates, and ask the price before they start. If you need a locksmith, our sister site explains what a callout should cost.
- Every number that answers overnight is on our emergency page.
The next few days
Boxing Day 2026 falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. That gives two different days to plan for: Boxing Day in London. Then New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The one-line version
Friday 25 December 2026: no trains, almost no TfL, big shops closed by law, road charges off. Book a taxi well ahead, buy food and medicine by the 24th, and check the NHS pharmacy rota before you need it.
Sources
- National Rail — Christmas and New Year 2026/27: no National Rail services on Christmas Day; early finishes on Christmas Eve
- TfL — Christmas and New Year services, 2 December 2025: the most recent published pattern
- Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004, section 1 and Sunday Trading Act 1994, Schedule 1 (the 280 m² threshold and the exempt shops)
- TfL — ULEZ and TfL — Congestion Charge
- NHS North West London ICB: pharmacies not required to open on bank holidays; ICBs commission cover
- NHS England — London, publisher of the London Christmas and New Year pharmacy rota
- GOV.UK — bank holidays
Checked: 27 October 2026 (National Rail 2026/27, TfL, GOV.UK, the legislation and the road-charge pages; NHS pages 22 September 2026) — TfL and the NHS publish their 2026 Christmas details in November and December, and this page will be re-checked against them before Christmas.