London North Eastern Railway (LNER) passengers can start planning their Christmas and New Year trips from today (Thursday 16 July), as the publicly-owned train operator has made tickets available for journeys between Friday 18 and Wednesday 23 December and between Sunday 27 December and Sunday 3 January.

The operator is encouraging passengers to book ahead, promising that they will save 47 per cent on the cost of an average fare on LNER. More than 1.3 million tickets are available to buy.

It has also promised to make tickets for travel on Christmas Eve (Thursday 24 December) available at a later date.

To promote the early release of festive travel tickets, LNER dispatched a Summer Santa Claus to spread the news to passengers and to give out a few presents.

LNER runs services along the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland.

Several heritage railways have also got their Christmas plans in place already, hoping to tempt enthusiasts to spend a day on a train during the festive season. These include the Weardale Railway and the Brecon Mountain Railway.

“No, your eyes weren’t deceiving you, Santa Claus has been spreading the joy earlier than ever this year, sharing the fantastic news that more than a million LNER tickets for the key festive travel period have gone on sale today.

“Dressed for his own summer holidays, travelling via LNER of course, Santa swapped the sleigh for the train to help us announce that Christmas tickets have gone on sale for our customers earlier than ever before. We are aware that many of our customers relish the chance to plan their festive travel at the earliest opportunity, whether that’s reconnecting with loved ones, booking a festive city break, or visiting some of the spectacular Christmas markets and seasonal attractions found all along the LNER route. It’s a proud moment to be able to do this before many of our customers even head off for their summer holidays!”

David Flesher, Commercial Director at LNER