Thousands more seats for those travelling to Reading Festival

With two new fleets of trains now in full service those travelling to the Reading Festival can take advantage of thousands more seats than ever before.

But operator GWR is warning customers to allow time for their journey; to only take what you can carry, and to charge mobile phones beforehand if an eTicket has been bought.

New Intercity Express Trains, offering up to 100 more seats a train than the High Speed Trains they replaced, as well as eight carriage suburban Electrostar trains will help take festival goers to and from the station – and extra, early morning services will operate on the Monday to help take customers home again.

Advice for travellers going to the Reading Festival

Leave Reading Station by either exit where you can catch a shuttle bus from the North side (furthest from city centre) or walk to the festival site via Vastern and then Caversham Roads

• Should you wish to take a shuttle bus a queuing system will be in place
• Only take what you can carry: (wheeled cases are allowed on trains but four-wheel trolleys and sack trucks will not be)
• Please use the pedestrian crossing as signposted
• Make sure you phone is charged if you have an eticket
• Remember your Railcard
• A queueing system will be in place at stations to help people board their reserved train

What time are the trains home?

GWR is to run five extra trains in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday morning to take Reading Festival goers home when the music ends, in addition to usual timetabled services.

The extra, early morning services will run as follows:

• 0140 Reading to Paddington, calling at Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, Hayes and Harlington, Ealing Broadway
• 0330 Reading to Paddington, calling at Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, Hayes and Harlington, Ealing Broadway
• 0355 Reading to Didcot non-stop
• 0455 Reading to Paddington non-stop
• 0504 Reading to Redhill, calling at Wokingham, Blackwater, North Camp, Guildford, Dorking Deepdene, Reigate.

All those using Reading Station and have not purchased a ticket beforehand should allow time to queue. Customers are encouraged to download the GWR app to buy before they board.

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.

We’re currently seeing the biggest investment in the network since Brunel so we can offer more trains, more seats, and shorter, more frequent journeys and continue the network’s heritage of helping connect more businesses to new and prosperous markets. Through a series of initiatives we aim to be a good neighbour to the communities we serve and are committed to making a positive social impact in those regions. Learn how we're Building a Greater West at GWR.com. GWR is a FirstGroup company.