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London travel: What’s closed from now until New Year’s Day

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'Tis the season to avoid much of the public transport network, as engineering works take advantage of the holiday lull in passenger numbers.

Here's your post-Christmas run-down of what you need to know in London until New Year's Day.

The Tube

The Tube will run a Sunday service on New Year's Eve, meaning the Waterloo and City line will be closed. There will be a Saturday service for the rest of the week, but the Waterloo and City line will be open. All other lines should function as they would on a usual Saturday, with the exceptions of:

The District line will be closed on all stations all branches west of South Kensington until New Year's Eve – although Piccadilly line trains will also call at District line stations between Acton Town and Hammersmith.

The Circle line will be closed on its southern and western portions, between Aldgate and Edgware Road, until New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Eve the Tube will run a normal Sunday service and then all night travel – "the best way to get around on the day", according to TfL, despite the inevitable crowds.

Stations around Covent Garden, Camden Town, and the north bank of the Thames will either be closed, exit-only, or managed queueing on New Year's Eve as crowds flock to the fireworks.

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will run a weekend service for the week, with a normal Sunday service until 00:30 on New Year's Eve, and then a service every 15 minutes throughout the night until 10:00 on Monday 1 January.

National Rail

A hodgepodge of strikes, planned engineering works and reduced services throughout the holiday period. It is pretty much essential to check your route here before you travel.

On New Year's Eve/New Year's Day the following providers will operate some early morning trains to ferry revellers home from London: c2c; Chiltern Railways; Great Western Railway; Great Northern; London Northwestern Railway; London Overground; South Western Railway; Southeastern; Southern; TfL Rail; Thameslink. Check here for details.

The following major improvement works in London will be undertaken during Christmas and into the New Year, according to National Rail:

Crossrail project work – London Liverpool Street – Shenfield / Ingatestone: 23 December – 1 January
London Paddington: 23 December – 1 January
London station closure: Charing Cross and Cannon Street: 23 December – 1 January

London Overground

There is an amended Saturday service on most open lines until New Year's Eve.

Reduced services from Liverpool Street to Enfield Town/Chingford
No service between Edmonton Green and Cheshunt (until Monday 1 January 2018)
No service between Highbury & Islington and Dalston Junction (until Saturday 30 December 2017).
No service between Camden Road and Stratford (until Saturday 30 December 2017)
No service between Romford and Upminster (until Monday 1 January 2018)
No service between Gospel Oak and Barking (until Sunday 14 January 2018)

TfL Rail

Avoid. There will be no TfL Rail service on the entire line until New Year's Day as Network Rail modernises overhead power lines a connects the TfL Rail route to the Elizabeth line tunnel.

Buses

Trusty buses will run weekend services all week, with Sunday services on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Give time for the inevitable congestion in central areas, however, and check for road closures.

Taxis

Taxis will charge an extra £4 between 20:00 on Sunday 31 December and 06:00 on Monday 1 January.

While minicabs are not expected to charge the same fees, it is highly likely that ride-hailing app Uber will have surge pricing at peak times. All taxis, whether black cab or minicab, will also be vulnerable to increased congestion.

Driving

The congestion charge will not apply from Boxing Day until New Year's Eve, but be careful before you rush to your cars: more buses and fewer trains mean congestion is likely. There are also roadworks planned for the A1 near Holloway Road, the Chelsea Embankment, and Hammersmith Bridge.

On New Year's Eve road and bridge closures will begin from 14:00 to prepare for fireworks in the capital. All roads will reopen by 06:00 on 1 January 2018.

NYE free travel

And finally some good news. Between 23:45 and 04:30 on New Year's Eve you can travel free on all TfL networks: the Tube, London Overground, buses, the DLR and trams.

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