TRAIN services around Reading are set to see temporary reductions as maintenance works are conducted on routes in southern England.
On Sunday, November 17, Great Western Railway will be operating a reduced timetable. Most long-distance services will start from or terminate at Reading, where customers will be able to pick up Elizabeth line trains to Ealing Broadway and then change for London Underground services into central London.
Those travelling from South Wales and from Devon and Cornwall will, however, have one service an hour into London Euston instead, however these trains will not stop at Reading.
To minimise crowding, these trains will be reservation only and must be booked in advance.
Due to crew availability on Sundays, further timetable changes may be needed; these will not be shown in journey planners until early on Sunday, November 17.
GWR has relaxed ticket restrictions to allow customers to switch journeys to travel on Saturday or Monday, November 16 and18 instead.
Where long-distance services are able to operate on Sunday, 17 November, they will be extremely busy, and given the possibility of short-notice cancellations or alterations, customers should check their journey on the day.
On Saturday, November 16, long-distance GWR services will still run between London Paddington and Reading– however, services will be reduced.
GWR Operations Director, Richard Rowland, said: “This is a really complex operation, and we have worked hard to make sure people get to where they want to go. We will run an hourly service from the south-west of England – Cornwall and Devon – and an hourly service from South Wales, which will go into Euston.
“We will then have several trains which will terminate at Reading, and people can change there. We will also have trains to Ealing Broadway for those making more local journeys. They will be able to change on to the London Underground and into London that way.
“Trains on the Sunday will, however, be significantly reduced and we would urge people to travel on the day before or the day after, freeing up space for those who have to travel on the Sunday. We have altered tickets to allow people to do so.”
