LNER Prepares For The Christmas Countdown

LNER is preparing to welcome thousands of customers who are travelling home for Christmas or venturing further afield during the festive period. It is encouraging people to plan ahead and reserve a seat. 

Extra helpers have been recruited to assist customers as teams prepare for one of the busiest times of the year, with more than 60 additional staff joining colleagues working at stations, and representatives from across the business providing support.  

Journeys between 20 and 24 December 2024 are up by two thirds (67 per cent) compared with the same period last year. More than 120,000 bookings have already been made so far. The most popular days for travelling across the festive period this year are Saturday 21 December and Friday 27 December, with journeys between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley topping the table.   

Customers are advised to leave extra time to get to the station and to their platforms. LNER teams will be on hand to help.  Customers can sign up for real-time travel updates and there are no fees when booking directly with LNER. 

Colette Casey, Customer Experience Director at LNER, said: "The Christmas period is an exciting time for LNER and our customers. Our plans in place for the festive period mean that our customers can travel with confidence and have some festive fun along the way. We’re looking forward to welcoming customers, both those who’ve travelled with us before and those joining us for the first time at this special time of year.” 

Menus will have a festive feel from 11 December 2024, offering food and drink sourced from selected local suppliers. Customers in First Class can enjoy complimentary service. Customers travelling in Standard can order a delicious range of refreshments to be delivered direct to their seat through the ‘Let’s Eat At Your Seat’ service. Members of loyalty programme, LNER Perks, can also take advantage of a boosted 25 per cent at seat service discount during December 2024.  For customers in First, the menu includes a vegetarian chestnut and stuffing ‘sausage’ roll paired with Christmas ketchup, and tasty overnight oats with orange and cranberries. The popular cheese and Christmas slaw sandwich is also back on the menu and can be followed by a delicious chocolate and hazelnut dessert pot. 

Onboard, every case has its place, and customers are asked to only bring what they can carry. The new LNER Luggage Buddy service is available for customers with more luggage. Working with trusted shipping specialists Sherpr, the courier service will arrange collection of luggage and deliver it directly to the customer’s final destination.  

LNER is already embracing the spirit of the season with its stations adorned with Christmas trees and decorations. During December the LNER mascot, Eleanor, will feature in an Advent Calendar full of surprises that is set to add some sparkle. Eleanor herself will also be arriving at stations wearing her favourite Christmas jumper to spread cheer.  

Entertainment on the train is sorted in the form of Routes, the new podcast from LNER, hosted by Clara Amfo – with a Christmas special set to drop ahead of the big day, full of festive stories from big name guests. To help keep little ones entertained, from 20 December there will be Christmas activity packs available on board full of puzzles, stickers and games.