Leeds Christmas travel: Train times, rail strikes, bus schedules & roadworks to be aware of this Christmas

With Christmas Day just around the corner, you are probably thinking about the best mode of transport to get you to and from the Christmas host’s this year. With train strikes aplenty you might want to give your journey some thought before being caught short in the lead up to Christmas.

Northern Rail has issued travel information for trains departing from Leeds and it appears that the railway service will be disrupted over the Christmas period. Industrial action has been announced over the Christmas period, with some engineering work in the lead up to New Year.

Bus services also have limited schedules on some days so make sure you take note of these too. We have also rounded-up some of the major roadworks that could affect your Christmas travel across Leeds.

Christmas travel information from Leeds

There will be rail strikes on December 24, 25, 26, 27 and January 3, 4, 6 and 7 so train services will be affected.

Christmas rail information from Leeds

Northern Rail

Northern rail has issued some travel information to those travelling to and from Leeds.

Friday December 23

Due to planned engineering work some early morning train changes will be made:

• 05:19 York to Blackpool North service will start from Leeds. A bus will be provided from York to Leeds, departing York at 04:10 to connect with the train at Leeds.
• 05:20 Leeds to York service will be replaced by a bus.

Christmas Eve

Industrial action has been announced for Saturday December 24. There will be a very limited service and Northern are advising customers to not travel on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day

No Northern services will operate on Christmas Day.

Boxing Day

No Northern services will operate on Boxing Day.

Tuesday December 27

Industrial action has been announced for Tuesday December 27. There will be a very limited service and Northern are advising customers to not travel. The information below is subject to change.

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

• Newcastle - Middlesbrough: Buses will replace trains between Stockton and Middlesbrough.

• Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

Wednesday December 28

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

• ​​​​​​​Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

Thursday December 29

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

• ​​​​​​​Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

Friday December 30

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

• ​​​​​​​Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

New Years Eve

Northern services will shut down early on New Year’s Eve. Please check that your journey is possible if you intend to travel after 6pm.

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

​​​​​​​Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

Leeds - Manchester Victoria / Wigan (via Dewsbury): Services between Leeds and Manchester Victoria / Wigan via Dewsbury will be diverted via Halifax. These services will not call at Morley, Batley, Dewsbury, Mirfield or Brighouse. Rail replacement buses will run between Leeds and Sowerby Bridge.

New Years Day

There will be a late start-up on New Year’s Day. Please check your journey if you plan to travel before 8am.

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

​​​​​​​Leeds - Harrogate - York: Buses will replace trains between Poppleton and York.

Leeds - York (via Garforth): Until 12:00, buses will replace trains between Micklefield and York.

Leeds - Hull:  Until 12:00, buses will replace trains between York and Selby.

Leeds - Knottingley (via Wakefield Kirkgate): Buses will replace trains between Wakefield Kirkgate and Knottingley.

Monday January 2

Services on the following routes will be affected by planned engineering work:

Leeds - Manchester Victoria / Wigan (via Dewsbury): Services between Leeds and Manchester Victoria / Wigan via Dewsbury will be diverted via Halifax. These services will not call at Morley, Batley, Dewsbury, Mirfield or Brighouse. Rail replacement buses will run between Leeds and Sowerby Bridge.

Tuesday January 3

Industrial action has been announced for Tuesday 3 January. There will be a very limited service and Northern are advising customers to not travel.

LNER Christmas timetable

From Saturday December 24 to Monday January 2 2023, essential work will be taking place on tracks at York, as well as industrial action.

There will be a change to services affecting LNER trains travelling to or through York and Darlington. Additionally, on Sunday January 1 there will be no trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness.

Industrial action is also taking place on Saturday December 24, Monday 26 and Tuesday 2022. As well as Tuesday January 3,Wednesday 4, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 2023. LNER advises that there may be some last-minute changes to the trains and other train operators so always check your entire journey before you travel.

Cross Country trains 

Cross Country is also being affected by the strike action and significant disruption is expected. Cross Country advises that all passengers travelling between December 18 and January 2 should check the website for the latest information.

The planned strikes mean that CrossCountry can only run a limited service between 7.30am and 6pm with trains likely to be far busier than usual as customers travel over the festive period.

Are buses running in Leeds over Christmas?

First Bus group has issued travel advice for over the Christmas period from Leeds.

Friday December 23 - Normal Friday service

Saturday December 24 - Normal Saturday service, finishing approximately 8pm.

Christmas Day - No service

Boxing Day - Special Boxing Day service

Tuesday December 27 - Sunday Service

Wednesday December 28 - Saturday service

Thursday December 29 - Saturday service

Friday December 30 - Saturday service

New Years Eve - Saturday service, finishing approximately 8pm.

New Years Day - No service

Monday January 2- Sunday service

Tuesday January 3 - Normal Tuesday service

Visit the First Bus website for the full timetable.

Leeds Road closures

Drivers in and around Leeds will also have eight National Highways road closures to watch out for this week and three of them are expected to cause delays of between 10 and 30 minutes.

• A62, from 9pm December 9 to 5am December 19, slight delays (under 10 minutes): M621 clockwise and junction 27, carriageway closure for structure works, diversion in place via National highways network.

• M606, from 6am October 27 2022 to 6am July 31 2023, moderate delays (10-30 minutes): M62 westbound, junction 28 to junction 26, carriageway closure lane closures with 24/7 lane closures for carriageway improvements, diversion route in place via national highways network and local authority network.

• M62, from 8pm March 5 2022 to 6am May 24 2024, slight delays (under 10 minutes): M62 eastbound and westbound, junction 29, carriageway closures for bridge works, diversion route via national highways network.

• M621, from 8pm June 26 2022 to 6am August 21 2024, moderate delays (10-30 minutes): M621 anticlockwise, junction 7 to junction 1, carriageway and lane closures including narrow lanes and speed restrictions for carriageway improvements, diversion route in place via local highway authority and National Highways network.

• M62, from 8pm June 26 2022 to 6am August 22 2024, moderate delays (10-30 minutes): M621 clockwise M62, junction 27 to junction 7, carriageway and lane closures including narrow lanes and speed restriction for carriageway improvements. , diversion route in place via National Highways and Local Highway Authority roads.

And a further three closures will begin over the next seven days:

• M621, from 6pm to 10pm on December 21, slight delays (under 10 minutes): M621 possible delays clockwise and anticlockwise due to football match.

• M621, from 9pm December 22 to 6am December 23, slight delays (under 10 minutes): M621 clockwise and anticlockwise, junction 27 to junction 1, Lane closure for barrier repair.

• M621, from 6pm to 11pm on December 28, slight delays (under 10 minutes): M621 possible delays clockwise and anticlockwise due to football match.

National Highways is responsible for maintaining motorways and major A-roads, so closures of smaller roads will not be included in their schedule.