No trains on Christmas Day, few on Boxing Day, and last buses about 8pm on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The 2026 rail plan and last year's bus times.
Getting around West Bridgford over Christmas comes down to three things: no trains on Christmas Day, almost none on Boxing Day, and last buses at around 8pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. That was the pattern last year, and National Rail’s 2026 guide, already live, confirms the rail half of it.
The detailed 2026 bus timetables are not out yet. Last year Nottingham City Transport published its plan on 29 October, so expect the 2026 version in late October.
The quick answer
- Friday 25 December: no National Rail trains, and last year no NCT or trentbarton buses either.
- Saturday 26 December: “most train operators will have no service”, National Rail says. Last year EMR ran nothing on Boxing Day and NCT ran no buses.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve: expect last buses at about 8pm and earlier last trains. Boxing Day’s bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December this year.
Trains: what National Rail has confirmed for 2026
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027. So far it says:
- Thursday 24 December: trains on many routes will finish earlier than normal. Its list of last trains from London is due in late November or early December.
- Friday 25 December: no National Rail services, as usual.
- Saturday 26 December: most operators will run nothing; a small number will run a “very limited” service, details to be confirmed.
- Monday 28 December: the Boxing Day substitute bank holiday. Services are to be confirmed.
- Thursday 31 December: trains on some routes will finish early.
Each operator’s own festive timetable is added “from the beginning of October onwards”. One major closure is already known: Birmingham New Street has major engineering work from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December, and journeys to, from or through it “will be significantly disrupted”. That matters for any trip from Nottingham that runs via Birmingham.
East Midlands Railway: what happened last year
EMR runs Nottingham’s London, Sheffield, Grantham and Lincoln trains, including the stops at Radcliffe on Trent and Bingham. Its advice for Christmas 2025 came out on 10 December 2025:
- Christmas Eve: trains ran but finished early, with last departures “typically” between 7pm and 9pm depending on route.
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no EMR trains, and all stations closed.
- 27 December: services resumed, some on a revised timetable.
- New Year’s Eve: trains all day, possibly finishing early.
- New Year’s Day: a reduced timetable, starting later.
(East Midlands Railway, 10 December 2025)
Engineering works already booked for December
National Rail’s engineering list runs about 12 weeks ahead, so it does not yet reach Christmas week. Two December jobs near West Bridgford are already listed:
- Sunday 13 December, morning: Nottingham to Grantham. The 8.15am Nottingham to Grantham and the 9.03am Grantham to Nottingham are replaced by buses, and the 8.50am Nottingham to Skegness is replaced by a bus to Sleaford. That is the line through Radcliffe on Trent and Bingham. (National Rail)
- Monday 14 to Friday 18 December, late night and early morning: London St Pancras. Overnight closures on the Midland Main Line change some of the latest and earliest EMR trains between St Pancras and Corby, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. (National Rail)
Our train times to London page has the normal service.
Nottingham City Transport buses: last year’s plan
Nottingham City Transport’s Christmas and New Year 2025/26 plan was:
| Day | Service |
|---|---|
| Mon 22 and Tue 23 Dec | Normal weekday timetable, no NightBuses |
| Christmas Eve | Saturday timetable until about 8pm |
| Christmas Day | No service |
| Boxing Day | No service |
| Sat 27 Dec | Saturday timetable, no NightBuses |
| Sun 28 Dec | Sunday timetable |
| Mon 29 and Tue 30 Dec | Saturday timetable, no NightBuses |
| New Year's Eve | Saturday timetable until about 8pm, no NightBuses |
| New Year's Day | No service |
| Fri 2 Jan | Saturday timetable |
| Mon 5 Jan | Normal timetables, NightBuses resume |
Last NCT buses on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, 2025
These were the last buses on the routes that run out to Rushcliffe.
| Route | Last from city centre | Last back to city centre |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Loughborough | 7pm (8pm to Gotham) | 7.40pm (8pm from Trent Bridge) |
| 5 Edwalton | 7.50pm | 7.53pm |
| 6 Gamston | 8pm | 8.02pm |
| 7 Edwalton Fields | 8.05pm | 7.39pm |
| 10 Ruddington | 7.45pm | 8.07pm |
| 11/B Lady Bay | 8pm | 8.09pm |
| 11 Cropwell Bishop | 6.03pm | 7.06pm |
Source: Nottingham City Transport, Christmas and New Year Services 2025/26.
trentbarton: last year’s plan
trentbarton runs the keyworth, the cotgrave and the rushcliffe villager. Its Christmas 2025 page said:
- Christmas Eve: a Saturday service. The last bus on the keyworth ran at 6.30pm.
- Christmas Day: no service.
- Boxing Day: only skylink Nottingham and skylink Derby, on a Sunday service.
- 27 and 28 December: normal weekend service.
- 29 and 30 December: a Saturday service until midnight.
- New Year’s Eve: a Saturday service with last departures around 8pm; special late timetables on routes that have Saturday nightbuses, except the cotgrave.
- New Year’s Day: no service.
- Friday 2 January: a Saturday service.
Parking and the lights switch-on
Rushcliffe Borough Council had published no Christmas parking concession for its West Bridgford car parks when we checked its news area on 25 September. Normal charges are on our parking page.
The one known pre-Christmas closure in the town is Central Avenue for the lights switch-on, when trentbarton diverts its buses; see our Christmas lights page. Our roadworks page has everything else.
Related
Still to confirm
- EMR and CrossCountry Christmas 2026 timetables: operators start adding them from early October.
- National Rail’s last trains from London on Christmas Eve: late November or early December.
- NCT and trentbarton 2026 plans: NCT published on 29 October last year.
- Engineering works between 24 December and 4 January: will appear on National Rail’s list from about early October.
Have your say