Buses replace trains at Petersfield on 5 and 6 December and at night from 7 to 10 December. Christmas week is not out yet; last year Waterloo shut 27 to 28 Dec.
The festive timetable for the Portsmouth line has not been published for 2026. South Western Railway’s Christmas page still describes 2025/26, and National Rail’s engineering list stops short of Christmas week. What is already booked is three sets of December work between Guildford and Havant, two of which cut Petersfield off from Haslemere for a weekend. This page has those dates, what last year’s Christmas looked like, and the two things every year has in common: no trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, and an early finish on Christmas Eve.
The quick answer
- Sat 5 and Sun 6 December: buses replace trains between Haslemere and Petersfield on the Saturday, and between Haslemere and Havant on the Sunday.
- Mon 7 to Thu 10 December: buses after 22:50 between Guildford or Haslemere and Havant or Portsmouth, until 04:45 each morning.
- Christmas week 2026 is not announced. Last year Waterloo was closed on 27 and 28 December and everything terminated at Clapham Junction.
- No trains on Friday 25 or Saturday 26 December, on any SWR route, every year.
What is already booked for December
National Rail lists three pieces of planned engineering work on the Petersfield line in December, all by Network Rail and all affecting South Western Railway (SWR). They are separate from the Christmas plan and will run whatever that plan turns out to be.
| Dates | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sun 25 October | Buses replace trains between Guildford and Petersfield all day. No trains between Petersfield and Haslemere or Guildford. The first day of the county's half term. |
| Sat 5 December | Buses replace trains between Haslemere and Petersfield. Trains still run south of Petersfield. |
| Sun 6 December | Buses replace trains between Haslemere and Havant, so Petersfield has no trains at all. |
| Mon 7 to Thu 10 December | From 22:50 until 04:45 each night, buses replace trains between Guildford or Haslemere and Havant, Portsmouth & Southsea and Portsmouth Harbour. Southern's Victoria trains stop at Havant after 22:30. |
Sources: Sunday 25 October, 5 and 6 December and 7 to 10 December, all National Rail. The 25 October closure matters for anyone heading to London on the first Sunday of half term, and 6 December is the first Sunday of the Christmas shopping season with nothing running through the station.
The Petersfield Christmas Market is on Sunday 13 December, the weekend after the closures. Our Christmas market page has the details.
Christmas week: not yet published
SWR’s Christmas and New Year page had not been updated for 2026 on 25 September. It still describes the 2025/26 arrangements, which give a fair idea of the shape to expect:
- Christmas Eve 2025: services across the network ended earlier than usual, with the last departures from Waterloo before 22:00.
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day: no trains or buses anywhere on SWR.
- 27 and 28 December 2025: all lines closed between Waterloo and Clapham Junction. A reduced service ran, and every train started and finished at Clapham Junction.
- 29 December to 4 January: a reduced timetable with fewer trains, diversions and longer journeys.
- New Year’s Eve: extra services after midnight for people coming home.
Whether Network Rail books another Waterloo blockade for Christmas 2026 is the detail that decides everything else. It usually appears on National Rail’s engineering list and SWR’s page during October. The date shape this year is unhelpful: Christmas Day is a Friday, the Boxing Day bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December, and New Year’s Day is Friday 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK). Two long weekends means two windows for engineering work.
Our Petersfield to London train times page has the normal journey times, fares and what to do when the line is shut.
Buses
Stagecoach South runs the 37 and 38 between Petersfield, Alton and Bordon and had not published festive timetables for 2026 by 25 September. Its Alton and Petersfield service updates page is where changes appear. We will add the festive dates here when they are out.
Parking in December
East Hampshire District Council made all its car parks free for the whole day on Saturday 13 December 2025 as a pre-Christmas gift to the town centres of Petersfield and Alton, announced in its news release. Nothing has been announced for 2026 yet. The normal tariffs for Central, Swan Street, Castle Yard and Festival Hall car parks are on our parking page, and the roadworks page has the A3 closures.
What is still to come
- October: Network Rail’s Christmas plan and SWR’s festive timetable, including Christmas Eve last trains and the 27 December to 2 January service.
- November: Stagecoach festive timetables and any council parking concession for December.
- December: the new national timetable normally starts on the second Sunday in December, which would be 13 December 2026, and can change Portsmouth line times.
Have your say