Train Travel on 12/25 or 12/26

It is restricted. And it will depend on where you are? What are you trying to do? Little more information, please !

I can't say for sure about other countries, but in Germany, December 26, the 2nd day of Christmas, is a big travel holiday. It's about the only time I have ever seen an ICE standing-room-only.

If you are talking Eurostar you are talking trains between London and Belgium or France.

Where do you want to be on which day?

Thanks all! I am looking to travel from Paris to the Pamplona area of Spain. I was hoping to travel on Christmas Day since most tourist attractions will be closed it seemed like a good way to spend the time. But if train travel will be nonexistant or severely restricted, I may need to cut my time in Paris short and travel on the 24th or wait until the 26th or later.

French trains and most European trains follow a holiday schedule on Christmas Day, that may be the same as a regular Sunday schedule, or may have a few less early or late departures. Since there is a Europe-wide schedule change on December 10, most winter schedules won't be published for a while. French TGV tickets usually go on sale 3-4 months out, but I wouldn't look for them until at least the end of this month.

In Great Britain, no trains run at all on Christmas day, nor London Tube nor bus, and Dec. 26th also has more limited service there. National Rail and Transport for London should each post their specific plans by November, at the latest.

You should be on SNCF's and RENFE's websites or apps. Eurostar won't help you with that trip.

Nigel, I totally agree with you however SNCF doesn't publish schedule information that far in advance, so I was looking at Eurostar to see how they operate at the holidays as that could be a general indication of what I may face with either SNCF or Renfe. I can't seem to get any Renfe schedule info either for that time of year and so I turned to this forum for some general guidance on what to expect.

Eric, the timetables change every year on 2nd Sunday in December (10th December 2017). The times past that date for any rail company won't be published until earliest October, possibly early November.

There probably will be train service in France and Spain on both 25th and 26th December (unlike the UK where there is no trains on the 25th), but it will be limited and crowded.
I personally would not want to travel on these dates.
I would also recommend to avoid travelling on 24th (or 23rd or 22nd) if you can as the trains will be very full. If you have to travel, make sure you have a reservation or you may be standing.
Also, wherever you are staying on the 24th, 25th and 26th make sure you have somewhere to eat. Many restaurants will be closed or reservations only.

Most faster or long-distance French and Spanish train tickets are only sold for reserved dates, times, and seat assignments, and that's particularly the case for TGVs running between Paris and Spain. Booking whenever tickets are released may give you a discount and may even make the first-class price relatively attractive, although discounts may not be as good as on non-holidays.

If you choose a route with a connection at Hendaye, then there's plenty of local EuskoTren service across the border to Irun (5 minutes) and San Sebastian that won't be reflected in most timetables. On Sunday December 3, for example, the first TGV departs Paris Montparnasse at 09:52 and arrives to Hendaye at 14:32. On that day, the last Renfe train from Irun to Pamplona departs at 15:35, so you should be able to make if there's no delay.

It's also possible to make the Paris-Pamplona trip with one connection in Barcelona, but arriving late, at 23:30, and probably more expensive, as it covers a longer distance.