As the festive season approaches, many people in Scotland are preparing to travel across the country to visit loved ones. With train travel being a popular choice for holiday journeys, ScotRail has released its Christmas and New Year timetable to ensure that passengers can plan their trips accordingly. This year’s festive schedule includes some important changes, offering both more options and some limitations for those traveling by train during the holiday season.
ScotRail’s revised timetable will feature earlier departures for the last trains on Christmas Eve and Hogmanay, catering to the increased demand as people head to their destinations for Christmas celebrations. Boxing Day will also see new services introduced, including routes between Aberdeen and Edinburgh Waverley, as well as from Arbroath to Edinburgh Waverley, providing additional travel choices for those planning to travel during the holiday period.
To accommodate the surge in passengers, ScotRail will be running extra services and adding additional seating on many routes. Late-night trains will be operating on key routes, along with longer trains to ensure that all passengers can find a seat. The transportation company advises travelers to plan their journeys ahead of time, as essential engineering work will impact several routes over the festive period.
On Christmas Eve, services will run as usual until around 7 p.m., after which trains will begin winding down for the holiday. As in previous years, there will be no trains operating on Christmas Day (December 25) or New Year’s Day (January 1). However, ScotRail has arranged for the Boxing Day timetable to include the usual services in the Strathclyde area, as well as additional routes connecting to Perth, Alloa, Dunblane, Dundee, Leven, and between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The new Boxing Day services will include the following routes:
- 9:51 a.m. Arbroath to Edinburgh Waverley
- 11:35 a.m. Edinburgh Waverley to Arbroath
- 9:54 a.m. Aberdeen to Edinburgh Waverley
- 10:35 a.m. Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen
Between Saturday, December 27, and Tuesday, December 30, normal services will resume, except for those affected by engineering work. A revised timetable will be in place starting from Friday, January 2, 2026.
However, infrastructure upgrades will cause some disruptions during the festive season. No trains will run between Dalmuir and Balloch or Helensburgh Central, or between Glasgow Queen Street and Crianlarich from December 24 to January 2, due to the installation of a new railway bridge at Bowling in West Dunbartonshire. Additionally, services between Motherwell and Cumbernauld via Whifflet, Bellshill, and Motherwell, as well as between Kirkwood and Whifflet, will be suspended due to track upgrades in Motherwell.
West Coast Main Line services will also experience disruption. Glasgow to London Euston trains will not operate between Preston and Carlisle from December 31 until January 15, as a bridge replacement project on the M6 takes place. Furthermore, no trains will run between Milton Keynes and Rugby from December 25 until January 5, while a worn-out junction is being replaced.
ScotRail’s service delivery director, Mark Ilderton, expressed his satisfaction with the introduction of Boxing Day services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh. He emphasized that these new travel options provide significant benefits for passengers during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. For those requiring additional help, passengers are encouraged to speak to station staff, use a Help Point, or reach out to ScotRail through their social media channels.
Complete details of the Christmas and New Year timetable, including the Boxing Day services and other service changes, are available on the ScotRail website and app, allowing passengers to stay informed and plan their travel accordingly.
The post ScotRail Offers More Travel Choices with New Boxing Day Routes and Extended Services to Accommodate Festive Travel Demands Across Scotland – Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Travel And Tour World.
