No trains on Christmas Day, then Network Rail works at Slough from 27 December to 3 January hit Paddington trains. Henley branch dates and last trains below.
If you are going to London from Henley between Christmas and New Year, plan for disruption: Network Rail is closing part of the line at Dolphin Junction, near Slough, from Sunday 27 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. That follows the usual shutdown with no trains at all on Christmas Day. GWR has not yet said what will run on the Henley branch or to Paddington on each of those days, and National Rail publishes its Christmas Eve last-train guide in late November or early December.
The quick answer
- No trains anywhere on Friday 25 December, and most operators run nothing on Saturday 26 December.
- Dolphin Junction works: 27 December to 3 January, affecting trains to and from London Paddington. A dress rehearsal closure on 28 and 29 November shuts the line between Maidenhead and Paddington all weekend.
- Henley to Twyford runs normally on 28 and 29 November. The Christmas timetable for the branch has not been published yet.
Why the London line is shut after Christmas
The work is a £27.8 million rebuild of the eastern side of Dolphin Junction, between Slough and Langley, which Network Rail says carries more than 400 passenger trains a day. It is laying 88 pre-built track panels, putting up nine new overhead-line structures and moving two signals, so that trains can cross between lines at higher speed. Network Rail lists two closures for it, 28 and 29 November 2026 and 27 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, “following the usual Christmas shut down on 25 and 26 December”, and says diversions are still being agreed (Network Rail, Dolphin Junction upgrade).
In practice, a trip from Henley to London that week will mean a change at Twyford, as usual, and then whatever GWR and the Elizabeth line can run past Slough. Details of that are not out yet.
The November weekend: what Henley gets
The notice for the first closure is already on National Rail, and it is the best guide to what Christmas week may look like (National Rail, Paddington engineering works 28 and 29 November).
- No trains between Maidenhead or Heathrow and London Paddington all weekend, on GWR, the Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express.
- Twyford to Henley-on-Thames: trains run normally.
- Local trains run only between Reading, Twyford and Maidenhead, and the Elizabeth line runs two trains an hour between Reading and Maidenhead with none from Maidenhead into London.
- Replacement buses run between Maidenhead and Slough, and between Slough and Ealing Broadway.
- GWR runs a special service from Reading to Guildford for South Western Railway trains to London Waterloo.
That is the weekend straight after Henley’s Christmas Festival on Friday 27 November, and the first weekend of the Chinnor railway’s Santa trains, so anyone travelling in from London should check before setting out.
Christmas and New Year, day by day
| Date | What National Rail and GWR have said so far |
|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | Trains on many routes finish earlier than normal. Last trains from London published late November or early December |
| Friday 25 December | No National Rail services anywhere |
| Saturday 26 December | Most operators run no service. GWR details to follow |
| Sunday 27 December | Dolphin Junction works begin. GWR details to follow |
| Monday 28 December | Substitute bank holiday. Service to be confirmed |
| Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December | Dolphin Junction works continue. Some routes finish early on New Year’s Eve |
| Friday 1 January | Some London routes run special late trains after midnight |
| Sunday 3 January | Last day of the Dolphin Junction closure |
Sources: National Rail, Christmas and New Year 2026/27 and National Rail, GWR bank holiday information. GWR’s own entry for every day except Christmas Day currently reads “Information will be published when available”, and National Rail says operator details will be added “from the beginning of October onwards”.
Other lines out of the district
- Didcot Parkway and Cholsey are on the same Great Western main line, and their London trains also run through Slough into Paddington, so check them in the same way.
- Haddenham and Thame Parkway is on Chiltern Railways into London Marylebone, which does not pass through Slough. Chiltern’s Christmas timetable is not out yet.
Journey times and normal fares from each station are on our Henley train times to London page.
Driving and parking over Christmas
South Oxfordshire District Council has not announced any free parking days for December 2026. Henley’s charges, including the three-hour limit at Kings Road and Greys Road, are on our parking in Henley page. Road closures, including the Christmas Festival closures on Friday 27 November, are on Henley roadworks and travel.
Also for Christmas week
- Bin collections slip from 25 December and do not catch up until 16 January 2027: Henley bin collection days.
- Schools break up on Friday 18 December: Henley school term dates.
- Santa trains at Chinnor, Didcot and Wallingford: Santa trains near Henley.
Still to be confirmed
GWR’s day-by-day service for 24 December to 4 January, the replacement bus plan for the Dolphin Junction closure, and the Christmas Eve last trains from Paddington. This page will be updated when GWR publishes, which National Rail expects from October, and again when the last-train guide appears in late November.
Checked against Network Rail’s and National Rail’s published pages on 25 September 2026.
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