Rail passengers advised to check before they travel this Bank Holiday

GWR is reminding passengers to check their journeys before they travel over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend as Network Rail continues to upgrade the railway between London Paddington and Reading to enable new Elizabeth line services to run.

From Saturday 5 to Monday 7 May Network Rail is carrying out upgrade work between Maidenhead, and Hayes & Harlington, with the work extending from Hayes & Harlington to London Paddington on Sunday 6 May. Network Rail has been unable to amend online timetables in advance of this planned engineering work, and some services will differ from those originally advertised.

This is because of the volume of upgrades taking place across the network which means Network Rail has been unable to inform passengers of changes to the timetables as early as they would like. As a result, customers are advised to check their journey plans before they travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk.   

Travelling on Saturday 5 or Monday 7 May?

• Buses will replace trains between Maidenhead and Hayes & Harlington
• Long-distance services will be diverted around the affected area into London Paddington, adding up to an hour to journey times from Bristol/South Wales, and an hour and a half from Devon/Cornwall
• Services between Cheltenham Spa and London Paddington will start terminate at Swindon
• Suburban stopping services that would normally operate into London Paddington will terminate at Maidenhead
• Services from London Paddington to Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Airport will continue to run
• Tickets will be accepted on South Western Railway services from Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as on Chiltern Railways services from Oxford

 Travelling on Sunday 6 May?

• Buses will replace trains between Maidenhead and Ealing Broadway with no GWR or Heathrow services into London Paddington
• Long-distance services will be diverted to London Marylebone adding up to an hour to journey times from Bristol/South Wales and 90 minutes from Devon/Cornwall
• Services between Cheltenham Spa and London Paddington will start/terminate at Swindon
• Tickets will be accepted on South Western Railway services from Reading and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as on Chiltern Railways services from Oxford

Network Rail will also be upgrading Ealing Broadway station over the Bank Holiday weekend in preparation for the opening of the Elizabeth line. The upgrade involves the removal of a stairway to Platform 2/3 which will enable work on the foundations for a new passenger footbridge and lifts that will connect the platforms to the new larger ticket hall once the major upgrade is complete.

This upgrade will affect rail journeys as well as road and pedestrian routes near to Ealing Broadway.

GWR Operations Director Rob Mullen said:

“This work will ultimately enable our customers to switch trains at London Paddington for fast, Elizabeth line services to the heart of the city.

“With the introduction of our new Intercity Express Trains providing quicker journeys from early next year, and with the start of Elizabeth line services from December, these improvements will bring Cardiff and Bristol even closer to the City, saving more than 30 minutes on total journey time.”

Network Rail Crossrail Programme Director Ben Wheeldon added: 

“We apologise to passengers affected by the upgrade work over the bank holiday weekend and advise passengers to check before they travel.

“The upgrade over the bank holiday weekend forms a vital part of the Crossrail programme which will, once complete, transform rail travel from the west into London.

“The scale of the work is huge and we are completing it in as short a time as possible, to minimise the impact for passengers.”

Notes to editors

Great Western Railway (GWR) provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services. We help over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year - across South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.