Buy now to beat the queues: Customers warned of queues at Reading station on Monday morning, as revellers return home from world-famous music event
Reading Festival goers are being warned of the need to queue to board trains and to have tickets checked, as train operator Great Western Railway prepares for a busy Bank Holiday weekend.
In a change to previous years, customers will be queued through the underpass, before entering the station on the south side, providing improved access to platforms.
Watch the entire 2023 Reading Festival in 30 seconds:
Plenty of trains will operate to take revellers to and from the event and extra late-night/early-morning trains are being laid on in the early hours of Monday morning. However, services are expected to be extremely busy for the return journey and a queuing system will be in place.
Those travelling from further afield should also check their journey carefully beforehand, with engineering work taking place in the Severn Tunnel affecting journeys to south Wales on Sunday 25 August, and CrossCountry are operating an amended timetable for journeys to the Midlands and North.
Travellers are also being reminded to only bring what you can carry to allow space for other passengers.
GWR Reading Station Manager John Gadd explains:
“We’re really looking forward to welcoming people to Reading Station for the festival. To try to keep everyone as safe as possible, please allow extra time for your journey home as a queuing system will be in operation on Monday.
“To help you board safely and allow space for others, please do not bring excessive amounts of luggage.”
To avoid disappointment when arriving at the stations travellers should:
- Only bring what you can carry - sack trucks/trolleys will not be allowed on board
- Allow extra time on Monday morning because trains from Reading home will be extremely busy, and a queueing system will be in place
- Remember your Railcard (young or old)
- Charge your phone if you have an electronic ticket
Traditionally Reading Festival creates the biggest event for GWR in terms of single day numbers of additional travellers. Up to 65,000 additional customers have been seen returning from the festival by rail on the Bank Holiday Monday starting in the early hours and continuing through the rest of the day to mid-afternoon.
Usual timetable services from Reading towards London operate throughout the night/early morning, for example on Friday eve the following trains run (music stops circa 2315):
- 2348
- 2355
- 0019
- 0039
- 0115
The following extra trains will run in the very early hours of Monday morning:
- 0011
- 0136
- 0300
- 0434
Contact Information
Notes to editors
Notes to editors:
First Greater Western Limited, trading as “Great Western Railway” (GWR), operates trains across the Great Western franchise area, which includes South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, across southern England and into London. GWR provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services and helps nearly 90 million passengers reach their destinations every year. GWR has been awarded a National Rail Contract to operate the Great Western network: https://www.gwr.com/about-us
For more information on CrossCountry services over the bank holiday weekend and the impact of CrossCountry's temporary timetable, visit https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/travel-updates-information/temporary-timetable