London Paddington closed to trains on Sunday morning; services at Bristol Temple Meads also affected this weekend

Network Rail is carrying out an essential signalling upgrade in the London Paddington area on Sunday, closing the station to all trains for half the day until 1200.

And final work on a recently upgraded railway junction on the approach to Bristol Temple Meads will affect trains on Saturday and Sunday.

Great Western Railway has advised customers to plan ahead and check journey times before travelling.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:

“We work very closely with Network Rail to make sure essential track and signalling improvements can take place when fewer people are travelling and with minimum disruption to customers. 

“We will continue to keep people moving during these works, but journeys may take longer and trains could be busier than usual. I’m grateful for customers’ patience while the work is completed, and would encourage those who do need to travel to check beforehand.”

• With no trains running to/from London Paddington on Sunday morning, long-distance services from across the GWR network will start or terminate at Reading
• Customers arriving at Reading are advised to use South Western Railway services to London Waterloo.
• Local services from Didcot Parkway will start/terminate at Slough – change here for replacement buses to Boston Manor (Piccadilly Line) or Ealing Broadway (District Line).
• Buses will replace trains on sections of routes between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as between London Marylebone and Oxford.

To allow for a smoother and quicker journey, GWR is advising passengers to consider travelling either the day before or after 1200 on the day of the works. For more information visit GWR.com/Upgrade

Network Rail Programme Manager Scott Pillinger said:

“We would like to thank passengers for their understanding while we complete these important signalling upgrades to prepare for the start of HS2.

“The HS2 route will connect directly into the Great Western network thanks to a brand-new station at Old Oak Common, making it easier and quicker to change trains than travelling through central London.”

Final work on the Bristol East junction this weekend will remove temporary speed restrictions currently in place affecting services between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway or Bath Spa.

• Buses replace train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Filton Abbey Wood or Bristol Parkway on Saturday 25 September.
• Buses then replace train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Keynsham, Oldfield Park or Bath Spa on Sunday 26 September.

GWR Regional Development Manager Matt Barnes said:

“We thank customers in advance for their patience and urge them to plan ahead as Network Rail delivers the final touches to its upgrade of the Bristol East junction.

“This work will in time help us to deliver 4,000 more train seats a day into the city, on more services through Bristol and help to reduce the conflict between long-distance and local stopping services, helping to maintain the reliability of our trains.”

For more information, visit our Bristol webpage at GWR.com/Bristol

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 before the covid-19 pandemic helped over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year. GWR was recently awarded an extension to its direct award franchise (called DA3), which shall run up to 31 March 2023, with an option to extend for a further year. 
Find out more here: https://www.gwr.com/about-us 

GWR’s enhanced cleaning regime includes: 

• A 24% increase in cleaning hours every week since March 2020 
• Sanitising (fogging) of 1,120 vehicles every 4 weeks 
• Carrying out 2,150 on board surface tests (ATP) every four weeks, to ensure the effectiveness of our cleaning 
• 272 train cleaning processes reviewed, and many adapted 
• Hand sanitising facilities at key stations across its network.