London Northwestern Railway reveals busiest dates to travel to London in the run up to Christmas

The busiest date to travel from Northampton to London Euston this festive season will be Saturday 15 November, London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has revealed.

Every year, millions of people head to the capital for its Christmas markets, light displays and infinite shopping opportunities. With Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park set to open on Friday (14 Nov), LNR has analysed three years of booking data to investigate travel patterns to London Euston, offering savvy shoppers valuable insight into the quieter days to travel in the lead up to Christmas.

The rail operator, which provides tens of thousands of train seats to and from Euston every day, has found that the next three Saturdays (15, 22, 29 Nov) will be the busiest for rail travel between now and Christmas Day.

Based on these results, passengers are encouraged to travel in the week for a quieter journey, waiting for off-peak times where possible. Surprisingly, these results also suggest that scheduling in your festive trips for December might make for less busy journeys. By planning ahead and booking in advance with LNR, customers can travel from Northampton to London from just £9.

Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming passengers onboard for their travel to London this festive season. Carriages will be much quieter on weekdays at off-peak times, so those who might need a bit of extra space for bags of presents should avoid weekend travel where possible.

“More people will be travelling to London than usual in the lead up to Christmas, so make sure to plan your journeys in advance and remember to be kind to staff and fellow passengers.”

Passengers have been notified of a £26m programme of railway upgrades near Milton Keynes this Christmas and New Year, affecting West Coast Main Line journeys to and from London Euston from the afternoon of 24 December to the morning of 5 January.

Susie May, Euston station’s customer experience manager, said: “We know Christmas is a special time for families and friends, and we want everyone to get where they need to be as smoothly as possible.

“With major improvement works taking place on the West Coast Main Line near Milton Keynes from the afternoon of 24 December until 5 January, it’s important to plan ahead. Our advice for anyone planning to travel between London and Scotland this Christmas is to plan your journeys as early as possible."

Visit www.lnr.uk/london to plan your journey to London.