National Express is increasing capacity across its network for the Christmas and New Year period, adding more than 45,000 extra seats on key intercity, airport and cross-border routes.
The operator is also introducing an additional overnight coach journey between Scotland and London to help meet seasonal demand.
From Monday 22 December, an extra overnight service will operate from Glasgow to London, increasing the number of direct daily journeys between Scotland and the capital to four. In addition, from Saturday 20 December, a further 1,500 seats will be added on services linking Edinburgh, Glasgow and London over the festive period.
Alongside the Scotland–London expansion, National Express is strengthening capacity on a range of routes across England and Wales. The additional services are intended to support passengers during a period of high travel demand, particularly while rail engineering works are planned over Christmas.
Between 20 December and 4 January, extra capacity will include:
- 12,300 additional seats on airport services between London and Stansted
- 10,300 additional seats on intercity services to and from the North West
- 9,200 additional seats on services to and from the South West
- 4,000 additional seats on services to and from the North East and Yorkshire
- 1,500 additional seats on services to and from the West Midlands
- 1,500 additional seats on services between Scotland and London
National Express says the expanded timetable reflects sustained demand for long-distance coach travel during the festive period, particularly where rail services are reduced or unavailable. Rail services do not operate on Christmas Day, and the coach network will run 355 journeys serving 96 towns, cities and airport locations across the UK.
Ed Rickard, Network Director for National Express, said:We already operate the UK’s biggest coach network and with decades of experience and operational capacity we have the flexibility to add extra journeys and capacity to meet the huge demand we’re seeing for our services.
With planned rail engineering works ahead, more people are turning to us for affordable and reliable travel and we’ve stepped up to add a new overnight journey between Scotland and London, plus over 40,000 extra seats to key intercity and airport services, connecting customers with every region across the country this Christmas.
Our services are great value, customers enjoy a guaranteed seat, and most importantly, we get them to their destinations safely. We expect to be busy and tickets are selling fast so we’re advising customers to book in advance to avoid disappointment.
In addition to the increased number of scheduled services, the operator is continuing its offer of free coach travel for up to three children travelling with a fare-paying adult. This promotion runs until 4 January 2026.
