Last Christmas Liverpool Street shut for eight days and Stortford trains ran to Stratford. Greater Anglia's 2026 plan is not out yet; here is what to expect.

Greater Anglia has not yet published its Christmas 2026 plans. Last year it shut London Liverpool Street for eight days, from 25 December to 1 January, and trains from Bishop’s Stortford ran to Stratford instead. There were no trains at all on Christmas Day, only a reduced Stansted Express on Boxing Day, and the last trains on Christmas Eve left around 10pm.

The 2025 plan was announced on 29 October, so the 2026 one is likely within a month. Until then, last year’s is the best guide to the shape of it.

The quick answer

  • 2026 plan: not published yet. Greater Anglia’s calendar of service changes for December lists nothing on the West Anglia line so far.
  • Last year: no trains on Christmas Day; Boxing Day only a reduced Stansted Express between Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport; Liverpool Street closed 25 December to 1 January, with Stortford trains ending at Stratford.
  • Resident parking zones: last year no permit was needed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Council car parks are free on Christmas Day.

What happened last Christmas

This is Greater Anglia’s own day-by-day list for 2025/26, from its travel advice (first published on 29 October 2025, reissued on 19 December) (Greater Anglia).

Day Greater Anglia services, 2025/26
Christmas Eve Early shutdown: reduced from 7pm, all trains finished by 10pm. The exception was the Stansted Express between Liverpool Street and the airport: last from Liverpool Street 23:21
Christmas Day No Greater Anglia trains
Boxing Day Reduced Stansted Express only, Tottenham Hale to Stansted Airport. No other services
27 December to 1 January Revised service; West Anglia trains started and ended at Stratford, not Liverpool Street. Buses replaced trains between Stansted Airport and Cambridge North
2 to 4 January Liverpool Street reopened; buses still replaced trains north of Stansted Airport to Cambridge North
5 January Normal service

The closure was for Network Rail to keep replacing the station’s ageing roof panels and to maintain the Bishopsgate tunnel on the approach, plus a big signalling renewal around Cambridge.

While Liverpool Street was shut, tickets were accepted on the Elizabeth line and Central line between Stratford and Liverpool Street, and on the Victoria line between Tottenham Hale and King’s Cross St Pancras.

For Bishop’s Stortford that meant:

  • To London: a change at Stratford (Elizabeth or Central line) or at Tottenham Hale (Victoria line) for the whole week between Christmas and New Year.
  • To Cambridge: a bus for part of the journey from 27 December to 4 January.
  • To the airport: trains ran, except on Christmas Day.

The year before, 2024/25, followed almost the same pattern: Liverpool Street shut 25 December to 1 January and West Anglia trains ran to Stratford (Greater Anglia). Two Christmases in a row is not a promise of a third, but it is the working assumption until the 2026 notice lands.

What we know for 2026

Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year, Boxing Day on a Saturday, and the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December.

Greater Anglia’s month-by-month list of planned changes (Greater Anglia service alterations) currently shows just two items for December, both far from here: Brundall to Lowestoft on 6 December and late-night work between Witham and Colchester from 7 to 9 December. Nothing for the West Anglia line, Liverpool Street or Stansted, and nothing yet for January. An empty list in September does not mean an ordinary Christmas; last year’s closures were only announced at the end of October.

Parking over Christmas

East Herts’ resident parking zones ran like this last winter (East Herts Council):

  • No permit or visitor voucher needed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Double yellow lines still apply.
  • Permit rules applied as normal on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and every other day between.

In the council’s own car parks, parking is free on Christmas Day, for example at Jackson Square (East Herts Council). Sundays and bank holidays have their own flat rate; every tariff is on our parking in Bishop’s Stortford page.

Getting to the Christmas events

The two big town-centre days both shut roads. The lights switch-on is at Festive Fun Day on Sunday 15 November, and the Christmas Fayre on Saturday 5 December closes South Street to North Street from 6am to 7pm. Details are on our Christmas lights and Fayre page. For road closures week by week, see roadworks and travel, and for normal journey times, trains to London.

If you are heading to the tip after Christmas, note that the Bishop’s Stortford centre is shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and on its usual Tuesday and Wednesday: see recycling centre opening times.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Greater Anglia’s 2026/27 Christmas and New Year plan, including whether Liverpool Street closes again and the last trains on Christmas Eve. Expected late October on last year’s timing.
  • East Herts’ 2026 resident parking arrangements, published on its winter changes page.

This page will be updated as each is published.