Labour is accusing the Tories in the coalition Government of "total hypocrisy" for failing to ensure rail services operate on Boxing Day.
In opposition the Conservatives routinely complained about the lack of trains running on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
But the Conservative-led Government have taken no action to get a rail service on Boxing Day.
John Woodcock MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Minister, said: "This is total hypocrisy from the Tories. Year after year in opposition, the Tories attacked the Boxing Day rail shutdown. But
"But in Government they have done nothing to encourage rail operators to run a Boxing Day service – and this Boxing Day, most trains are not running.
"This is typical of the Conservative Party's opportunism – making promises they never had any intention of keeping.
"Transport Secretary Justine Greening should tell us what she plans to do to ensure that Boxing Day services do run in future, or else admit that her party was simply chasing headlines in opposition by raising this issue, and had no real intention of doing anything about it."
Train Operating Companies are not running services this Boxing Day – full details of rail service levels can be found via the following link: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/seasonal/Christmas_2011/index_custom.html
The Tories criticised Boxing Day rail closures in 2008 and 2009.
In 2009 Stephen Hammond, the then Tory rail spokesman, said the rail closures meant passengers were facing the "road to hell".
He added: "Despite warnings from the Conservatives last year, Labour have done little to make operators a nd Network Rail wake up to the importance of a functioning railway service during the Christmas break.
"Thousands of families travel the length and breadth of the country to visit relatives and loved ones on Boxing Day. But yet again this year the railways will grind to a halt, forcing people onto gridlocked motorways. When you add to this the thousands of home and away football fans heading for games then the headache on our roads gets much worse.
"While engineering work should be carried out in quiet periods for travel, Boxing Day can hardly be seen as a quiet period. Labour just do not get how important the railway is to people at Christmas-time. By allowing the railway to close so completely on Boxing Day Labour are condemning sports fans, and families trying to celebrate the Christmas period together, to misery on our clogged up motorways.
"If Labour had the interest of the travelling public at heart they would not cut people off from the railway at the very time when they need a fast, reliable and pleasant way to travel long distance across the UK."
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