Network Rail shuts the line near Slough from 27 December to 3 January, hitting Paddington services. No Elizabeth line on 25 or 26 December. Tube and parking.
The big one this Christmas is a Network Rail closure near Slough. From Sunday 27 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 the railway through Dolphin Junction, between Slough and Langley, is shut for track renewal, and Network Rail says the work “will affect train services for London Paddington”. That is the line through Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall and Acton Main Line. Exactly which trains run, and what replaces the rest, has not been published.
Everything else about Christmas travel from Ealing follows the usual shape: early finishes on Christmas Eve, nothing on Christmas Day, no Elizabeth line on 26 December, and a Boxing Day bank holiday that this year falls on Monday 28 December. This page carries what is confirmed, what last year looked like, and when the rest is due.
The quick answer
- 27 December to 3 January: Network Rail’s Dolphin Junction closure affects Paddington services. Details of diversions and replacement transport are “being agreed” (Network Rail). The same junction also closes on 28 and 29 November.
- Christmas Day and 26 December: no Elizabeth line trains on either day, and no Great Western trains on Christmas Day (National Rail).
- Christmas Eve last trains are published by National Rail in late November or early December. Operator-by-operator festive timetables start appearing from the beginning of October.
The Dolphin Junction closure
Network Rail is spending £27.8m renewing the eastern side of Dolphin Junction, which sits between Slough and Langley stations on the Great Western Main Line. The western side was done over Christmas 2025. Over 400 passenger trains a day pass through it. The bulk of the track work “takes place during the autumn and over the Christmas to New Year period”, with the new layout finished at the start of January 2027.
The travel dates on Network Rail’s own project page are:
| Dates | What Network Rail says |
|---|---|
| Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026 | Work at the junction will affect train services for London Paddington |
| Sunday 27 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 | A 10-day closure of the railway over Christmas and new year, following the usual shutdown on 25 and 26 December |
“Alternative travel arrangements, including diversions, are being agreed. Once details are confirmed information will be posted here.” (Dolphin Junction upgrade, Network Rail, read 24 September 2026.)
What that means for Ealing has not been stated by Network Rail, Great Western Railway or Transport for London. On 24 September the National Rail pages for both the Elizabeth line and Great Western Railway said “information will be published when available” for every day from 27 December to 4 January. TfL’s planned closures listing for the Elizabeth, Central, District and Piccadilly lines showed nothing yet for the Christmas period.
The nearest precedent is last year’s closure on the other side of the same junction. GWR’s December 2025 service notice, as circulated to parish councils on 9 December 2025, said track renewal would affect Paddington services from Saturday 27 December to Sunday 4 January, that Elizabeth line trains would run between Hayes and Harlington and Paddington, and that buses would replace trains between Maidenhead, Slough and Hayes and Harlington (GWR notice, Hurst Parish Council). If 2026 follows that pattern, the Elizabeth line through Ealing would keep running to Paddington and the disruption would be beyond Hayes. That is a precedent, not this year’s plan, and the junction being closed is on the far side of Slough from the 2025 work. We will replace this paragraph with the confirmed arrangement when it is published.
Day by day: what National Rail has confirmed
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027. As of 24 September it said:
| Date | Confirmed so far |
|---|---|
| Thu 24 December | Services on many routes finish earlier than normal. A guide to the last trains from London is due “late November / early December” |
| Fri 25 December | No National Rail services anywhere |
| Sat 26 December | Most operators run nothing. A very limited service by a small number of operators, to be confirmed. No Elizabeth line trains |
| Mon 28 December | Substitute Boxing Day bank holiday. Services to be confirmed |
| Thu 31 December | Some routes finish earlier than normal |
| Fri 1 January 2027 | Special late-night services on a number of London routes after midnight. Guide due in early December |
The operator pages, including Elizabeth line, Great Western and Heathrow Express, are populated “from the beginning of October onwards”. The two entries already filled in are the ones above: no Elizabeth line trains on 25 or 26 December, and no GWR trains on Christmas Day.
For Ealing Broadway’s normal weekday and weekend services, and which operator runs what, see our Ealing train times to London page.
Tube and buses: last year’s pattern
Transport for London publishes its festive plan in early December. Last year’s came out on 2 December 2025, and this is what it said, because the shape repeats each year (TfL, 2 December 2025):
- Christmas Eve: services run but finish early.
- Christmas Day: no service on the majority of public transport.
- Boxing Day: a Sunday service on the Underground, buses and trams. No Elizabeth line and no service on most of the Overground.
- New Year’s Eve: services run all night. Some central London stations may close at short notice to manage crowds, and some central buses are diverted from around midday because of road closures for the fireworks. Normal fares apply overnight; there was no free travel.
- Congestion Charge suspended from 25 December to 1 January. ULEZ applied as normal except on Christmas Day.
For Ealing that covers the Central, District and Piccadilly lines and every bus in the borough. The 2026 detail is expected in the first week of December. Until TfL publishes it, its major works and events page is where the Christmas listing will appear.
Parking over Christmas
Ealing Council’s Christmas parking concession last year, from its 18 December 2025 service notice, was:
- Free parking on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day in all council car parks, pay and display bays and phone parking bays. Visitor parking in resident bays inside controlled parking zones was free on those days too.
- Normal restrictions on every other day. Bus lanes, moving traffic cameras, yellow lines and loading bays stayed in force through the festive period, Christmas Day apart.
- The parking services office closed at 5pm on 24 December and reopened at 9am on 2 January.
Whether “Boxing Day” this year means Saturday 26 or the bank holiday Monday 28 December is a question the 2026 notice will need to answer. Our parking in Ealing page has the car parks, charges and CPZ hours for the rest of the year, and Ealing roadworks and travel tracks the road closures that will still be running in December.
Bins, the tip and everything else
Bin days move for four weeks over Christmas in Ealing: see Ealing Christmas bin collections. The Greenford Road tip closes on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and is otherwise on its 8am to 4pm winter hours, booking required: Ealing tip opening times.
Still to be confirmed
- The Dolphin Junction arrangements for Ealing’s stations, from Network Rail, GWR and TfL. Network Rail says they are being agreed; the operator pages fill from October.
- Christmas Eve last trains from Paddington and through Ealing Broadway, due late November or early December.
- TfL’s full festive plan, expected in the first week of December.
- Ealing Council’s Christmas parking concession for 2026, expected mid-December.
This page was checked against every linked source on 24 September 2026.
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