When are the last trains home before Christmas?

The final direct train from Portsmouth to London leaves before 8am

The race is on: last trains from London Euston to destinations on the West Coast main line will be early afternoon on Christmas Eve (Simon Calder)

Members of the RMT union who work for Network Rail are walking out from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on 27 December.

When the Christmas strike was announced, the union said it was “specifically targeting engineering works” rather than passenger trains.

The aim was to scupper a £120m programme of improvement work planned for the Christmas shutdown – though Network Rail says 85 per cent of planned projects are going ahead.

But thousands of passenger trains have been cancelled. Travellers planning to catch trains on 24 December are being urged to travel only “if absolutely necessary, and if possible to consider travelling another day”.

Last trains are leaving as early as 8am and some locations will see no services at all, including the East Midlands line from Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester to London.

These are the last direct trains to London from key locations on 24 December:

• Norwich: 1pm
• Stansted airport: 2.42pm
• Edinburgh (LNER): 8am
• Edinburgh (Lumo): 8.56am
• Newcastle: 10:22am
• Leeds: 10.45am
• Glasgow: 10.40am
• Liverpool: 11.43am
• Manchester: 12.15pm
• Birmingham: 12.33pm
• Cardiff: 12.21pm
• Bristol: 1pm
• Heathrow airport: 3.17pm
• Exeter: 12.16pm
• Plymouth: 11.14am
• Southampton: 1pm
• Portsmouth: 7.54am
• Gatwick airport: 2.10pm
• Brighton: 1.39pm
• Folkestone: 1.58pm

Some slightly later journeys may be possible with changes.

These are the last direct trains from London to key locations on 24 December:

• Norwich: 2pm
• Edinburgh (LNER): 11am
• Edinburgh (Lumo): 10.25am
• Newcastle: 11am
• Leeds: 12.03pm
• Glasgow: 12.22am
• Liverpool: 12.34pm
• Manchester: 12.48pm
• Birmingham: 1.03pm
• Cardiff: 2.48pm
• Bristol: 2.32pm
• Heathrow: 3.25pm
• Exeter: 1.04pm
• Plymouth: 12.04pm
• Southampton: 12.30pm
• Portsmouth: 11.05am
• Gatwick airport: 2.05pm
• Brighton: 1.59pm
• Folkestone: 1.07pm

Some slightly later journeys may be possible with changes.