The East Lancashire Railway's Santa Specials run on 12 dates from 28 November to Christmas Eve. Adult fares start at £25 and top out at £41.50 a head.
The East Lancashire Railway’s Santa Specials are the biggest ticketed Christmas event in the borough, and unlike almost everything else in Bury this autumn, the 2026 details are already published in full. Tickets went on sale on 27 March 2026. The dates, the departure times and the fares are all confirmed on the railway’s own site, and they are set out below exactly as the ELR gives them.
The train is steam-hauled from Bury Bolton Street, runs to Rawtenstall and back, and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes door to door, of which roughly 80 minutes is the ride itself.
The dates and what they cost
Fares change by date, and the gap between the cheapest and the dearest day is more than £16 an adult. The railway’s price table:
| Date | Adult | Child | Adult + under 3 on knee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat/Sun 28 to 29 November | from £25 | from £24.50 | from £39 |
| Sat/Sun 5 to 6 December | from £30 | from £29.50 | from £44 |
| Sat/Sun 12 to 13 December | from £34 | from £33.50 | from £48 |
| Sat 19 December | from £34 | from £33.50 | from £48 |
| Sun 20 December | £41.50 | £41 | £59 |
| Mon 21 December | £35 | £34.50 | £51 |
| Tue/Wed 22 to 23 December | from £31 | from £30.50 | from £45 |
| Thu 24 December, Christmas Eve | £41.50 | £41 | £59 |
A £2.50 booking fee is charged per order, not per ticket, and is included in the total shown before checkout. The railway also offers Pay in 3.
Two things follow from that table. The last weekend in November is the cheapest way to do it, at £25 an adult, and it is £16.50 an adult more expensive on Christmas Eve and the Sunday before it. And note that 24 December 2026 is a Thursday, which is why it is priced like a weekend.
Departure times
Santa Specials leave Bury Bolton Street on a rolling schedule. The times below are the steam departures from Bury, paired with the diesel shuttle from Heywood that connects into them.
28 and 29 November, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 24 December
| Shuttle departs Heywood | Santa Special departs Bury |
|---|---|
| 08:55 | 09:30 |
| 09:45 | 10:20 |
| 10:35 | 11:10 |
| 11:25 | 12:00 |
| 12:15 | 12:50 |
| 13:05 | 13:40 |
| 13:55 | 14:30 |
| 14:45 | 15:20 |
| 15:35 | 16:10 |
The last three pairs, from 13:55 onwards, do not run on Christmas Eve.
21 December: shuttles at 09:45, 11:25, 13:08 and 14:45, connecting into Santa Specials from Bury at 10:20, 12:00, 13:40 and 15:20.
22 and 23 December: shuttles at 09:25, 10:15, 11:05, 11:55, 12:45, 13:35 and 14:25, connecting into Santa Specials from Bury at 10:00, 10:50, 11:40, 12:30, 13:20, 14:10 and 15:00.
The railway asks you to arrive at least 30 minutes before your steam departure.
Parking, and why the Heywood shuttle exists
This is the part people get wrong. Bolton Street station and the streets around it have very limited parking, and the ELR says so itself. Its recommended answer is to start at Heywood, where the car park is free, and take the diesel Santa Shuttle into Bury; the journey is about 15 minutes and shuttle tickets are open returns, so you can come back on any service.
If you are driving into Bury anyway, the council car park tariffs are on our parking in Bury page, and anything closed or diverted in December will show on our roadworks and travel page. Metrolink runs to Bury Interchange, a few minutes’ walk from Bolton Street; times are on our tram times page.
What you actually get for the fare
From the railway’s own list:
- A winter wonderland walkthrough at Bolton Street station, with decorated festive scenes. Note the warning on the ELR’s page: there are some flashing lights.
- Characters including elves, Mrs Claus and the railway’s Ice Princess.
- The roughly 80-minute steam ride from Bury to Rawtenstall and back.
- A visit from Santa with time to talk and take photos.
- A Christmas gift for every child, chosen by age band rather than gender. Under-3s get a teddy. Gifts cannot be changed on the day.
- A children’s activity book, a brass band on board, and a mince pie and a festive tipple.
Small print worth knowing before you book. Every “adult with under 3” ticket includes a gift; an adult-only ticket does not, so a small child on an adult-only booking will not get one. You cannot get off along the way. The mince pie is suitable for vegans and there is a gluten-free biscuit and a dairy-free chocolate on request, and the festive tipple can be swapped for a soft drink on the day. The railway reserves the right to substitute a diesel locomotive if a steam engine is unavailable.
Accessibility, prams and SEND
Every Santa Special has a specially adapted carriage for wheelchair users, offered as a private carriage to one family at a time, with direct wheelchair access. It is booked by phone on 0333 320 2830 rather than online.
Carriage A, next to the engine and the event entrance, involves the least walking on the platform. There is a buggy carriage on every train where prams are stored against a ticket, and a pram route that avoids the platform stairs. There are toilets on the train and on the platform at Bolton Street.
The railway also runs a separate SEND Family Santa Special with a tailored experience, and a “nominate a family” scheme giving five local families free tickets.
If it sells out
It usually does on the December weekends. Two things worth knowing: the November dates are both the cheapest and the last to go, and the ELR runs a Christmas card design competition for children where the winner receives four Santa Special tickets.
More on what the railway costs the rest of the year is on our things to do in Bury page.
Frequently asked questions
When do the East Lancs Railway Santa Specials run in 2026? On 28 and 29 November, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 December.
How much are tickets? Adult fares run from £25 on the November weekend to £41.50 on 20 December and Christmas Eve. Children are 50p less. A £2.50 booking fee applies per order, not per ticket.
Where does the train leave from? Bury Bolton Street station. The railway recommends starting at Heywood, where parking is free, and taking the diesel Santa Shuttle in.
How long does it take? About 1 hour 30 minutes in total, including roughly 80 minutes on the train between Bury and Rawtenstall.
Is it wheelchair accessible? Yes. Every Santa Special has an adapted carriage offered privately to one family at a time, booked by phone on 0333 320 2830 rather than online.
Sources
Checked 5 September 2026: the East Lancashire Railway’s own Santa Specials page, which carries the price table, the departure times, the inclusions list and the FAQs, and its news post Santa Specials tickets now on sale, dated 27 March 2026. Prices and times are the railway’s own and may change; confirm at the point of booking.
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