Happy Holidays!: Watching the Shrimpers over Christmas & New Year

Four games, four chances for the UK's unpredictable winter weather along with the usual transport caios that ensues, with or without the snow, to make 2010/11 the same as most years, a challenge to watch your football club over the Christmas holiday period, that's if the game gets played!

Last year I spent three weeks in South Africa over this time and didn't miss a game! Let's hope it's not as bad as that this time around, especially as the Ashes games go on in the middle of the night!

Anyway this is the train section so what's up there, well here are the major announcements from National Rail.

The table below gives an overview of the services that each Train Operating Company (TOC) will be providing between Thursday 23 December 2010 and Tuesday 4 January 2011.

*Please note that Monday 27 & Tuesday 28 December 2010, and Monday 3 January 2011 are Bank Holiday days, as Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day all fall on weekend days. Tuesday 4 January is also a Bank Holiday date in Scotland.

Simply select the company you are travelling with for a more detailed summary of their services. To find out how any changes will affect your specific journey, please use the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner which is expected to be fully up-to-date with all Christmas and New Year timetables by the end of October.

A national map showing the engineering works taking place over the Christmas and New Year holiday is available here (pdf format).

Christmas Day and Boxing Day services

On Christmas Day, the only National Rail services that will be running are Heathrow Express bus services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport, and Gatwick Express bus services between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.

On Boxing Day, with the exception of some trains in London and the South of England, and in the Strathclyde area around Glasgow, no National Rail services will operate.

Travel Tips

With many trains expected to be very busy, if you are travelling long distances then we strongly recommend that you reserve a seat where possible to ensure a comfortable journey.
Book now to get the cheapest fares; "Advance" fares are available for many journeys - check the Buying Advance Tickets page for more information.
If you plan to travel on Christmas Eve, the rail network shuts down earlier than normal. Don't get caught out, check the time of your last train home.
Maps showing any engineering work affecting train services over the Christmas and New Year period are available from the Train Operators pages. Click the links in the table below to view the maps, and more information about that Operators services over the Christmas and New Year period.
Follow National Rail Enquiries on Twitter, or find us on Facebook to keep informed of any disruptions to services while you are travelling.

Key to Table

AC	Awaiting Confirmation
N	Normal service
E	Engineering work affecting some trains & service levels - check the Train Operators page for more information
A	No engineering work affecting services, but an amended timetable or limited service in operation - check the Train Operators page for more information
BUS	Christmas Day / Boxing Day bus service running on some routes (no train services) - check the Operators page for more information
XX	No service

Click on the Train Operator name in the table below to view more information about their services over Christmas and New Year, and details of engineering work affecting their services.

	December									January
	Thu 23	Fri 24	Sat 25	Sun 26	Mon 27*	Tue 28*	Wed 29	Thu 30	Fri 31	Sat 1	Sun 2	Mon 3*	Tue 4*
Arriva Trains Wales	N	A	XX		E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	N
c2c	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	A	N	A	N
Chiltern Railways	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	N	N	A	N
CrossCountry	N	A	XX		E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	N
East Coast	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	N
East Midlands Trains	N	A	XX		E	E	N	N	A	E	E	N	N
Eurostar	N	A	XX	A	N	N	N	N	A	A	N	N	N
First Capital Connect	E	E	XX		E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E
First Great Western	N	A	X	BUS	E	E	E	E	A	E	E	E	N
First Hull Trains	N	A	XX		A	A	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
First TransPennine Express	N	A	XX		E	E	N	N	A	A	E	N	N
Gatwick Express	N	A	BUS	A	E	E	A	N	N	A	N	N	N
Grand Central	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	XX	A	N	N
Heathrow Express	N	A	BUS	A	A	A	A	A	N	N	N	N	N
Heathrow Connect	N	A	XX		A	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
Island Line	N	AC	XX		AC	AC	AC	AC	AC	AC	AC	AC	N
London Midland	N	A	XX		E	E	E	A	A	A	N	A	N
London Overground	E	E	XX		E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	N
Merseyrail	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	N	N	A	N
National Express East Anglia / Stansted Express	N	A	X	A	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	N
Northern Rail	N	A	XX		E	E	E	N	A	E	E	E	N
ScotRail	N	A	XX	A	A	A	A	A	A	XX	A	A	A
South West Trains	N	A	XX		E	E	E	E	A	E	N	A	N
Southeastern	N	A	XX		E	A	A	A	A	A	E	A	N
Southern	N	A	XX	A	E	E	A	A	A	A	E	A	N
Virgin Trains	N	A	XX		E	E	E	E	A	A	E	N	N
Wrexham & Shropshire	N	A	XX		A	A	A	A	A	N	N	A	N
	Thu 23	Fri 24	Sat 25	Sun 26	Mon 27*	Tue 28*	Wed 29	Thu 30	Fri 31	Sat 1	Sun 2	Mon 3*	Tue 4*
	December									January

London Terminal Stations Information

A printable summary of services from London terminal stations over the Christmas and New Year holiday period is available here (pdf format). Please refer to the Train Operating Companies information pages from the links above for further detailed information.

Printable / Mobile Phone versions

A text-only version of the summary is available from the links below. These are suitable for printing, or more suitable for viewing on mobile phones or portable devices:

Word format PDF format Web / HTML format

(Information supplied by www.nationalrail.co.uk)