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The Late Edition

London's evening edition. Independent, updated daily.

AnswerChecked 4 Sep 2026

Is the tube running on Christmas Day?

No. There is no Underground, no Overground, no Elizabeth line, no DLR and no National Rail on Christmas Day, and almost no buses. Boxing Day runs a reduced service on most lines.

What does run

A handful of bus routes operate on Christmas Day in some years and none of it is reliable enough to plan around. Assume nothing is running and that a taxi will cost several times the usual fare, if you can get one.

Which is why walking is the thing

Central London on Christmas Day is emptier than at any other hour of the year, and the royal parks are open. St James’s Park, Horse Guards and the bridges are yours in a way they never otherwise are. People do walk the whole way across town for the novelty of it.

Boxing Day and after

Boxing Day is a Sunday service on most Underground lines with some closures for engineering work, and the sales start early. The 27th has the same prices and a walkable Oxford Street.

What is on

2 listings

  1. Seasonal Free

    Christmas Day walk in St James’s Park

    10:00 St James's Park, Westminster

    There are no trains and no buses on Christmas Day, so the centre belongs to whoever walked. The park is open, the pelicans are in, and Horse Guards is empty enough to photograph.

  2. Seasonal Free

    Boxing Day on Oxford Street

    09:00 Oxford Street, Marylebone

    The sales open early and the crowd is at its worst between eleven and three. Go at nine or leave it to the 27th, when the same prices are still there and the street is walkable.

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