No trains on 25 December. On 27 and 28 December the Salisbury stopping trains start from Basingstoke, not Waterloo. SWR's full Christmas timetable is still due.
There will be no trains at Andover on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, and National Rail says most operators will run nothing on Saturday 26 December either. South Western Railway, which runs every train through Andover, has not yet published its 2026 Christmas timetable. What it did last year is below, because it tells you where the pinch points are likely to be.
The quick answer
- No trains on Friday 25 December; very few if any on Saturday 26 December. The Boxing Day bank holiday is Monday 28 December this year.
- Last Christmas Eve, the last Salisbury stopping train left Waterloo at 21:20 and the last Exeter train at 18:20.
- Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December: change at Basingstoke. SWR’s December engineering notice says Waterloo to Salisbury stopping trains will start from Basingstoke (Sunday afternoon and evening, all day Monday), and the Exeter trains will be revised.
- SWR’s full Christmas timetable is not out yet, including Christmas Eve and New Year.
Updated 5 October: SWR has published its December 2026 engineering work, which closes lines near Queenstown Road on 27 and 28 December and cuts the Salisbury stopping trains back to Basingstoke.
What is confirmed for 2026
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 page, checked on 25 September 2026, says:
- Friday 25 December: no National Rail services anywhere, as usual.
- Saturday 26 December: most operators will have no service, with a very limited service from a small number of them.
- Monday 28 December is the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday.
- Birmingham New Street has major engineering work from Thursday 24 to Monday 28 December, which matters if you are heading north via Reading.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve last-train lists will be published in late November and early December.
SWR’s December engineering work
SWR’s December 2026 engineering work page, checked on 5 October, has two entries that touch Andover’s line.
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December, Salisbury area. Some late evening trains on the Saturday and some early morning trains on the Sunday will be cancelled or replaced by buses for all or part of their journey. SWR does not yet list which trains.
Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December, Queenstown Road area. Some lines near Queenstown Road in south London close for maintenance. For Andover that means:
- Sunday 27 December: the afternoon and evening Waterloo to Salisbury stopping trains start from Basingstoke. The Waterloo to Exeter St Davids trains are revised.
- Monday 28 December (the Boxing Day bank holiday): the Waterloo to Salisbury stopping trains start from Basingstoke all day. The Exeter trains are revised.
- Both days: Waterloo to Basingstoke services are revised too, so allow extra time for the change.
SWR’s notice does not give times for the revised Exeter trains. Check a journey planner before you travel. The notice covers nothing after 28 December, so New Year week is still unconfirmed.
What happened last Christmas
SWR’s Christmas and New Year travel page still carried its 2025/26 arrangements on 25 September 2026. Andover’s trains are the Salisbury stopping services and the Exeter St Davids services.
Christmas Eve 2025. Services ended before 10pm. The last trains out of London Waterloo on Andover’s line were:
| Service from Waterloo | Last departure, 24 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Exeter St Davids | 18:20 |
| Salisbury (stopping) | 21:20 |
25 and 26 December 2025. No services on the SWR network at all.
27 December 2025 to 4 January 2026. Major engineering work closed the lines between Waterloo and Clapham Junction, and the West of England trains were cut short:
| Dates | Salisbury stopping trains | Exeter trains |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 27 and Sun 28 Dec | Hourly, running to and from Reading | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke |
| Mon 29 and Tue 30 Dec | Two an hour, to and from Basingstoke | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke |
| Wed 31 Dec | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke | Hourly, to and from Waterloo |
| Thu 1 Jan | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke |
| Fri 2 and Sat 3 Jan | Hourly, to and from Basingstoke | Hourly, to and from Waterloo |
So for most of that week, getting from Andover to London meant changing at Basingstoke. On Sunday 4 January 2026 there was separate engineering work between Basingstoke and Andover.
On New Year’s Eve 2025 SWR ran extra trains from Waterloo after midnight, but only as far as Basingstoke: stopping trains at 01:35, 02:10 and 03:10. None ran through to Andover.
Still to be confirmed
- SWR’s 2026/27 Christmas timetable, including Christmas Eve, the 26th and New Year week. Its Christmas travel page still showed 2025/26 on 5 October.
- Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve last trains. National Rail publishes its lists in late November and early December.
- Bus timetables and any Christmas parking concession from Test Valley Borough Council. Neither is published yet.
Everyday fares and journey times are on our Andover train times to London page. For the roads, see Andover roadworks and travel and parking in Andover. Bins change over Christmas too: see Andover Christmas bin collections.
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