Travelling by train this Christmas? Advice for London Thames Valley customers

GWR is urging passengers to check journey times before they travel over the Christmas period as Network Rail carry out vital works to modernise the rail infrastructure.

Services will be altered between Thursday 24 December and Sunday 3 January as part of a programme of engineering in the Thames Valley needed for the launch of Crossrail in 2019, and continued works to electrify the Great Western mainline.

The railway line between Slough and London Paddington will be closed on 27 and 28 December with mainline services diverted away from London Paddington, and a significantly revised timetable will operate between 29 December and Sunday 3 January.

Services will finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve with the last trains departing before 2130. Please check the time of your last train home and especially if you are planning to enjoy New Year’s Eve in central London.

Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December

There will be no trains between Slough and London Paddington, and there will be no Heathrow Connect or Heathrow Express services.
· Bus replacement services will run between Slough and Hillingdon and between Slough and Ealing Broadway calling at all stations where customers will then be able to connect with London Underground
· Rail services will operate between Reading and Slough
· There will be two direct GWR trains an hour between Reading and London Waterloo, calling at Basingstoke only
· South West Trains will operate two trains an hour between Reading and London Waterloo on Sunday 27 and four trains an hour on Monday 28 December
Tuesday 29 December to Sunday 3 January

Trains will run to/from London Paddington to an amended timetable, and rail services to suburban Thames Valley stations will continue to be significantly disrupted.
· Two services an hour will call at Ealing Broadway, Southall, Hayes and Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley, Slough, Maidenhead, Twyford and Reading
· Heathrow Connect will operate two trains per hour to Hayes & Harlington
A spokesperson for GWR said:

"We have been talking to our passengers about the CrossRail and electrification projects for some time and we are grateful to them for their understanding while we work to keep disruption to a minimum.

"Some of these improvement works form part of the wider £7.5 billion scheme to improve capacity and connectivity on the Great Western Main Line which will ultimately deliver more trains more frequent services and quicker journeys."

Those travelling to Heathrow should allow extra time for their journey, as there will be no Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect services on Sunday 27 and Monday 28 December. You can take the Piccadilly Line or London buses where tickets will be accepted. If you are travelling from the west of Reading, change at Reading for the RailAir coach link to Heathrow (an additional coach ticket will be required).

Full details can be found at https://www.gwr.com/travel-updates