Birmingham New Street Christmas plan out, with £6.4m Soho track renewal

Lead

Network Rail published its travel plan on 28 October 2026 for the Birmingham New Street Christmas closure. The plan confirms no trains will run to, from or through Birmingham New Street from Thursday 24 December through Monday 28 December 2026, with a full timetable returning on Tuesday 29 December 2026. The closure is being used to carry out a programme of engineering work including a three-phase overhead line equipment renewal and a £6.4 million Soho junction and track renewal.

Verified facts

Network Rail announced the station shutdown dates as 24–28 December 2026 inclusive, with normal service resuming on 29 December 2026. Network Rail said the Christmas closure initiates a £13 million programme to renew the overhead line equipment on the approaches to and through New Street; much of the wiring was installed in the 1960s. Network Rail described this as the first of three phases, with further overhead-line work planned for Christmas 2027 and Christmas 2028.

Network Rail is spending £6.4 million to replace ageing junction equipment and renew 800 metres of track at Soho. Additional track renewals will take place on the line between Birmingham and Sandwell and at Berkswell, between Birmingham and Coventry. At Berkswell, crews will install a new turnout linking the existing railway to new sidings intended to handle materials for later stages of HS2 construction. Network Rail stated that combining these jobs during the closure reduces overall disruption and the need to disrupt services again later.

The closure changes travel patterns on Christmas Eve (24 December), Sunday 27 December and the bank holiday Monday 28 December; the station is annually closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Network Rail advised passengers to move trips outside the closure where possible and warned that services on either side of the closure are likely to be more crowded than usual.

Organizations and responsibilities

Network Rail: published the travel plan and is the responsible infrastructure owner delivering the overhead line equipment renewal (£13 million programme, three phases beginning Christmas 2026) and the Soho junction and track renewal (£6.4 million) plus associated track renewals at Sandwell and Berkswell and installation of a Berkswell turnout for new sidings.

Avanti West Coast: set out an amended timetable that will not call at Birmingham New Street during the closure, and will provide replacement buses to Wolverhampton and to Birmingham International. Avanti West Coast’s first class lounge at New Street will be closed during the shutdown (the station building remains open).

CrossCountry: published amended or diverted services, including routes running between Coleshill Parkway and Stansted Airport, Nottingham and Cardiff Central, Edinburgh and Plymouth, and Manchester Piccadilly and Bournemouth, with associated replacement bus links from New Street to Coleshill Parkway via Water Orton, Worcestershire Parkway, and Tamworth via Wilnecote.

London Northwestern Railway: will start and finish services from Birmingham International on 27–28 December; separate engineering closes Northampton–Rugby via Long Buckby from 27 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 with buses replacing trains. Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street services will run only from Wolverhampton at reduced frequency, with onward multimodal connections to Birmingham Snow Hill described in the plan.

West Midlands Railway: will run no Cross City corridor trains through New Street during the closure and will use buses to cover affected routes; trains to Worcester Foregate Street, Great Malvern and Hereford will be diverted to Birmingham Snow Hill; other routes will be cut back to Wolverhampton or Sandwell & Dudley at reduced frequency.

Transport for Wales: will not run between Wolverhampton and Birmingham International during the closure.

Transport for West Midlands and Chiltern Railways: Transport for West Midlands said Chiltern Railways will continue to serve Moor Street and Snow Hill, and local tickets on the Camp Hill and Cross City lines will be accepted on National Express buses.

Operational and commercial context

According to Network Rail, the overhead wiring renewal is intended to reduce the risk of faults and improve long-term reliability; Network Rail framed the use of the annual Christmas Day and Boxing Day shutdown as an opportunity to minimise overall disruption to passengers. Combining the Soho junction, Sandwell and Berkswell renewals and the Berkswell turnout installation with the overhead-line programme was presented as a way to reduce the need for future disruptions.

Five operators published alternative timetables or diversion plans and specified replacement buses for affected corridors. Network Rail said Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street will be busier than usual and that Christmas Eve services at those stations will end early as they do annually. The station building at New Street will remain open throughout the closure with the assisted travel lounge and toilets available and staff on site; queuing systems will be used at busy times to help passengers access replacement buses and onward connections. The Avanti West Coast first class lounge will be closed for the period.

The Birmingham New Street work is part of Network Rail’s wider £152 million programme of Christmas and New Year 2026 projects that includes London Paddington and Huddersfield; the briefing notes that several jobs in the programme require longer line closures elsewhere (for example, Great Western Railway services not reaching Paddington until 4 January 2027 and Great Eastern Main Line closure at Forest Gate for 10 days from Christmas Day).

Sources

https://www.railway.supply/birmingham-new-street-christmas-plan-out-with-6-4m-soho-track-renewal/

Source organization: Railway Supply

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