No trains run from Southport on Christmas Day. Merseyrail ran a Boxing Day service last year and Northern did not. Last trains, New Year and what is still TBC.
No trains will run from Southport on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026. That much is fixed across the whole network. Everything else, from the last train on Christmas Eve to whether anything runs on Boxing Day, depends on which of Southport’s two lines you use, and neither operator has published its 2026 plan yet.
The quick answer
- Christmas Day: no National Rail or Merseyrail trains.
- Merseyrail to Liverpool, last year: last trains around 8.30pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and a half-hourly Boxing Day service from about 9.30am to 7pm at selected stations.
- Northern to Wigan and Manchester, last year: earlier finish on Christmas Eve and no trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
Southport’s two lines
Southport station has two operators, and they behave differently at Christmas.
- Merseyrail’s Northern line runs south through Birkdale, Ainsdale, Formby, Hightown, Crosby and Bootle to Liverpool.
- Northern runs east through Burscough Bridge and Parbold to Wigan and Manchester.
Our Southport train times page has the normal timetable for both.
What the network has confirmed for 2026/27
National Rail’s Christmas and New Year 2026/27 summary covers Thursday 24 December 2026 to Monday 4 January 2027 and says:
- Thursday 24 December: services on many routes will finish earlier than normal.
- Friday 25 December: no National Rail services.
- Saturday 26 December: most operators will run no service; a very limited service from a small number of operators is still to be confirmed.
- Monday 28 December: the substitute Boxing Day bank holiday. Which services run is to be confirmed.
- Thursday 31 December: services on some routes will finish earlier than normal.
Operator-by-operator details, it says, will be added nearer the time.
Merseyrail: what it did last Christmas
Merseyrail has not yet announced its 2026 arrangements. Its 2025 announcement set out:
| Day | Merseyrail service in 2025/26 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Eve | Early finish, last trains at approximately 8.30pm |
| Christmas Day | No service |
| Boxing Day | Special half-hourly service, approximately 9.30am to 7pm, calling at selected stations on each line |
| New Year's Eve | Early finish, last trains at approximately 8.30pm |
| New Year's Day | Half-hourly Sunday service on all lines |
Two things to watch for this year. Merseyrail’s Boxing Day service called only at selected stations, so the smaller stops between Southport and Liverpool may be skipped. And this year Boxing Day is a Saturday with the bank holiday on Monday 28 December, so there are two days to plan for rather than one.
An 8.30pm last train on New Year’s Eve is the one that catches people out. If you are going into Liverpool for the evening, you will need another way home.
Northern: what it did last Christmas
Northern said in December 2025 that its services would end earlier than usual on Christmas Eve and that no Northern trains would run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. It published that on 18 December 2025, a week before Christmas. Expect a similarly late announcement this year.
For Southport that meant no train to Wigan or Manchester on Boxing Day. If Northern follows the same pattern for Saturday 26 December 2026, the Merseyrail line to Liverpool is the only rail link out of town that day.
Engineering works over Christmas
National Rail’s engineering works list, checked on 25 September, had no Christmas or New Year works notices yet for either Southport line; its published notices then ran only to 19 December. We will check again in November, when the Christmas notices are due to be added.
The works already booked are earlier. The Merseyrail Northern line tunnel upgrade replaces trains with buses between Hunts Cross and Moorfields or Sandhills from Sunday 11 October to Friday 6 November 2026. On Sundays in that window, Southport trains terminate at Sandhills. Merseyrail’s own service information page has the day-by-day plan.
Buses and parking
Merseytravel publishes the Christmas bus, rail, ferry and tunnel timetables for the city region together; its site blocked our checks on 25 September, so we have not quoted last year’s bus times here. We will add Arriva and Stagecoach Christmas times when they are published.
Sefton Council has not announced any Christmas parking concessions for Southport. Charges and the cheaper car parks are on our parking in Southport page, and current road closures are on the roadworks page.
Still to be confirmed
- Merseyrail’s 2026 Christmas timetable, including last trains on 24 and 31 December and the Boxing Day stations. Last year’s arrived in December.
- Northern’s 2026 plan for Christmas Eve, Saturday 26 December and Monday 28 December.
- Christmas and New Year engineering works on both lines.
- Bus operators’ Christmas timetables.
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