One Southern train an hour runs Brighton to Victoria on Boxing Day, none on Christmas Day. Thameslink avoids Redhill from 20 Dec to 3 Jan. Every day listed.
No trains run on Christmas Day. On Boxing Day, Southern runs one train an hour between Brighton and London Victoria, and Thameslink runs nothing. The operators have now published their plans for every day from Christmas Eve to 3 January, and the main change for Brighton is engineering work at Redhill from Sunday 20 December to Sunday 3 January.
The day-by-day detail is below. Brighton & Hove Buses publishes its festive timetable in late November, so last year’s bus pattern is the guide for now.
Overview
- Friday 25 December: no trains at all.
- Saturday 26 December: one Southern train an hour between London Victoria and Brighton, from about 08:30 to about 21:00, calling at Clapham Junction, East Croydon, Three Bridges and Haywards Heath. No Thameslink and no Gatwick Express trains run.
- Sunday 20 December to Sunday 3 January: Thameslink trains still run to Brighton but cannot go through Redhill. Southern’s Victoria to Brighton trains stop additionally at Purley and Horley.
- Monday 28 December is the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday. Southern and Thameslink run “an amended and reduced” timetable, and Gatwick Express runs every half hour between Victoria and Gatwick or Brighton.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve trains finish earlier than normal. National Rail’s last-trains guide is due in late November or early December.
Updated 29 October: Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express have published their Christmas plans on National Rail. This page now lists the Boxing Day service, the Redhill works and the changes day by day. Updated 15 October: National Rail lists Monday 28 December as the substitute Boxing Day.
Trains day by day
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 page covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027. Each operator’s own page sets out its changes. This table is drawn from Southern’s, Thameslink’s and Gatwick Express’s pages as they stood on 29 October.
| Day | What runs |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December (Christmas Eve) | Redhill works in place. Southern Victoria to Brighton trains also stop at Purley and Horley; Thameslink Brighton trains avoid Redhill. Early finish on many routes. |
| Friday 25 December | No trains. |
| Saturday 26 December | Southern only: one train an hour between Victoria and Brighton, about 08:30 to 21:00. No Thameslink or Gatwick Express. |
| Sunday 27 December | Redhill works continue. Gatwick Express every half hour between Victoria and Gatwick Airport only. |
| Monday 28 December (bank holiday) | Amended and reduced Southern and Thameslink timetables. Gatwick Express every half hour to Gatwick or Brighton. After about 21:00, buses replace trains between Lewes and Eastbourne or Hastings. |
| Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December | As 28 December, including the late-evening buses east of Lewes. |
| Thursday 31 December (New Year's Eve) | Amended and reduced Southern and Thameslink timetables, early finish. Gatwick Express every half hour to Gatwick or Brighton. |
| Friday 1 January | Amended and reduced Southern and Thameslink timetables. Gatwick Express every half hour to Gatwick Airport only. |
| Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 January | Last two days of the Redhill works. Gatwick Express not yet published. |
| Monday 4 January | Southern still says "information will be published when available". Gatwick Express runs normally. |
The Redhill closure
Network Rail is closing all lines between Reigate and Redhill from Sunday 20 December to Sunday 3 January, according to National Rail’s engineering works notice. For Brighton passengers that means:
- Thameslink trains between central London and Brighton keep running but “cannot use the route through Redhill”, so nothing calls between Purley and Horley.
- Southern trains between Victoria and Brighton call additionally at Purley and Horley.
- Southern rail replacement buses run between Purley and Horley, calling at Coulsdon South, Merstham, Redhill, Earlswood and Salfords, on every day except 25 and 26 December.
- Tickets are accepted on Metrobus routes 100, 400, 420 and 460 between Redhill and Three Bridges.
If you normally change at Redhill, or travel to Merstham, Earlswood or Salfords, allow for a bus.
Other works on the network
National Rail also lists Christmas works at Birmingham New Street (24 to 28 December), Dolphin Junction near Slough on the Paddington line (27 December to 3 January), London Waterloo (a reduced timetable on 27 and 28 December) and London Charing Cross (27 and 28 December and 1 to 3 January). None of them is on a Brighton route, but they matter if you are travelling on from London.
The Brighton Main Line closures already fixed
Network Rail’s Sussex route has published its Brighton Main Line programme for the autumn and winter. None of the dates falls inside Christmas week, but two sit either side of it:
| Dates | What is shut |
|---|---|
| Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October 2026 | No trains between Brighton, Lewes or Hove and Three Bridges |
| Sunday 29 November 2026 | No trains between Brighton, Lewes or Hove and Three Bridges |
| Sunday 10 January 2027 | No trains between Gatwick Airport and Purley or East Croydon |
| Saturday 13 to Sunday 21 February 2027 | Nine-day closure: no trains between Three Bridges and Lewes, Brighton or Hove via Haywards Heath |
The 29 November closure falls on the first weekend of the Bluebell Railway’s Santa trains and a fortnight after the date the city’s Christmas lights came on last year; the 10 January one hits the first Sunday after most people go back to work. The February block is the big one, timed for the half term the council has set at 15 to 19 February, and is described by Network Rail as work “which cannot be done over regular weekend closures.” For normal weekday services and fares, see Brighton train times to London.
Southern’s own planned engineering work page lists the same Brighton Main Line closures.
Buses: last year’s pattern
Brighton & Hove Buses publishes its festive timetables in late November; the 2025/26 plan went up on 24 November 2025. What it did last year is the closest guide to 2026:
- Christmas Eve: a Saturday service, with most routes finishing from about 10pm and no night buses.
- Christmas Day: buses on routes 1, 5B, 7, 12, 28 and 49 only, with route 28 to Lewes running on Christmas Day for the first time. No night buses.
- Boxing Day: a special timetable on 22 routes, including 1, 2, 5, 5B, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29B, 48, 49, 50, 77, 78 and 79. No night buses.
- 27 and 28 December: normal weekend timetables.
- 29 to 31 December: Saturday service, except that routes 77 and 79 did not run.
- New Year’s Eve: extra night journeys on N1, N5, N7, N12 and N25.
- New Year’s Day: Sunday service.
The 2026 version is expected in the last week of November.
Bins, tips and parking
- Kerbside collections change over the holiday; the council’s 2026 dates are due in mid December. Last year’s schedule and the tree recycling dates are on our Christmas bin collections page.
- The two recycling centres shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and close at 1pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, on last year’s hours. Details on the tip opening times page.
- Parking: the council’s bank holiday parking page says that “during bank holidays, parking restrictions still apply in Brighton & Hove unless stated on the sign.” There is no published free-parking offer for Christmas 2026. Our parking in Brighton page has the zone hours and car park list, and roadworks and travel has the current closures.
Getting to the big December events
Burning the Clocks is on Monday 21 December on Madeira Drive; the Veteran Car Run finishes there on Sunday 1 November. Both are on our Burning the Clocks and Christmas lights and market pages, and any road closure orders for them will be added to the roadworks page when the council publishes them.
Still to be confirmed
- Exact train times for 28 December to 1 January, which the operators describe only as “amended and reduced”.
- Southern’s plan for Monday 4 January and Gatwick Express’s for 2 and 3 January.
- Last trains from London Victoria and London Bridge on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
- Brighton & Hove Buses’ 2026 festive timetable, expected in late November.
- The council’s 2026 Christmas bin dates, expected mid December.
Sources: National Rail, Christmas and New Year 2026/27; National Rail bank holiday pages for Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express; National Rail, Reigate, Redhill and Gatwick engineering works; Network Rail, essential work on the Brighton Main Line; Southern planned engineering work; Brighton & Hove Buses Christmas and New Year 2025/26; Brighton & Hove City Council bank holiday parking.
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