GWR warns customers to ‘only travel if absolutely necessary’ between London Paddington, Bristol and South Wales on Sunday 3 November

Several pieces of engineering work mean Great Western Railway is advising customers to only travel if absolutely necessary between London Paddington, Bristol and South Wales on Sunday 3 November.

Essential track repairs west of Bristol Parkway mean no trains can access Stoke Gifford depot, which maintains part of the fleet of GWR Intercity Express Trains, meaning fewer trains will be available. This also means no GWR services will be able to stop at Bristol Parkway on Sunday.

A reduced train service will run between London, Bristol Temple Meads and South Wales and will not stop at Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Chippenham.

These services will use diversionary routes adding approximately 30 minutes to journey times. These trains will also be reservation only, so customers still wanting to travel will need to make sure they have booked beforehand.

Because of the late notice of some of these works, along with the complexity of updating timetable systems, journey planners will not be fully correct until they are updated OVERNIGHT ON SATURDAY to reflect changes. Customers are strongly advised to only travel if absolutely necessary between London Paddington, Bristol and South Wales and must make a reservation.

To help customers' travel plans, those with tickets for Sunday 3 November on the affected routes will be able to use them to travel on Saturday 2 or Monday 4 November.

GWR Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said:

“We’re sorry to customers affected by this disruption. To allow us to provide reliable services on Sunday 3 November and to be able to have a good start to service on Monday morning, we have had to reduce our service frequency for the day.

“With so many pieces of vital improvement work coming together we will be able to operate fewer trains than normal and where we are able to run trains, they are expected to be really busy.

“We are encouraging people to travel on alternative days where they are able to do so on the routes affected.”

On Sunday 3 November, Network Rail engineering work will take place between:

• Bristol Parkway and Yate, Swindon, Filton Abbey Wood or Patchway
  • No trains can stop at Bristol Parkway – use Bristol Temple Meads station instead
  • Buses replace trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester (not stopping at Bristol Parkway)
  • CrossCountry trains will be diverted via Newport and Gloucester between Bristol Temple Meads and Cheltenham Spa
• Warminster and Southampton
  • Buses replace trains between Warminster and Southampton Central
• Reading and Didcot
  • Trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads will use an alternative route – not stopping at Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Chippenham
  • Trains between London and South Wales will also be diverted – not stopping at Didcot Parkway, Swindon or Bristol Parkway but will stop at Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads
• Swansea and Carmarthen
  • Buses replace trains
• Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth
  • Buses replace GWR trains between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth

Services between Devon/Cornwall and London Paddington are planned to operate as normal.

Further vital engineering works is also planned on Sunday 17 November, which will close the railway between London and Ealing all day, and in the early part of Sunday mornings on Sunday 24 November and Sunday 1 December.

On Sunday 17 November no mainline trains will run to or from London Paddington all day. This is to allow for work on HS2 at Old Oak Common, and Network Rail improvements to track, signals and overhead wires between Reading and Paddington.  

The majority of Great Western Railway’s long-distance services will start from or terminate at Reading. Elizabeth line services will be running between Reading and Ealing Broadway, where London Underground services run to or from central London.  

Those travelling from South Wales or from Devon and Cornwall will, however, have an hourly service diverted straight into London Euston instead. These trains will not stop at Reading. To help keep customers comfortable and minimise crowding, these trains will be reservation only, so make sure you book beforehand. 

On Sunday 24 November, all GWR services will start from or terminate at Reading until 1115. Only Elizabeth line services will run between Reading and Slough, with replacement buses between Slough and Ealing Broadway, and London Underground services running between Ealing Broadway and central London. The first GWR service will depart London Paddington at 1115, and first Heathrow Express service at 1125.

On Sunday 1 December, all GWR services will start from or terminate at Reading until 1030. Only Elizabeth line services will run between Reading and Ealing Broadway, with London Underground services running between Ealing Broadway and central London.

The first GWR service will depart London Paddington at 1030, and first Heathrow Express service at 1052.

Alternatively, customers can travel on South Western Railway services for Waterloo or on Chiltern Railways services for Marylebone instead.

Network Rail’s Western route director, Marcus Jones, said:

“Our work to improve the performance of the line in the Thames Valley is well under way and these upgrades to drainage systems and the track are vitally important to ensure that we can continue to see positive changes.

“I’d like to thank passengers in advance for their patience. There’s never a good time to close the line, however we do try to ensure that any disruption takes place when fewer people are using the railway, such as at weekends.

“We have made good progress with our Thames Valley improvement plan, although there is more to do. These upgrades are essential to our goal of reducing disruption and improving the resilience of this stretch of line into the future.”

If you plan to travel during this period, you should check both outward and return journeys before setting out.

Customers who purchased tickets but do not travel can claim a full refund or amend their ticket (according to the terms and conditions of the ticket). Those who travel and are delayed may be entitled to  Delay Repay compensation if they are delayed by 15 minutes or more.