GWR announces Christmas travel changes

Great Western Railway (GWR) has revealed that passengers planning to travel between 27 and 29 December should expect significant disruptions, with services to London Paddington suspended. 

However, there are no major alterations expected for travel before Christmas Day.

Following Christmas Eve, no trains will run to or from London Paddington until Monday, 30 December, as part of ongoing improvements to the new HS2 station at Old Oak Common and vital work on track, signals, and overhead wires between Reading and Paddington.

Instead, most long-distance services will run from or terminate at Reading, where passengers can connect to Ealing Broadway and use the London Underground for central London. 

For those travelling from Devon and Cornwall, there will be an hourly service diverted to London Euston, bypassing Reading, but it will require reservations to manage capacity.

Richard Rowland, GWR Operations Director, explained: “We’ve worked hard to make sure people can reach their destinations, including running hourly services from Devon and Cornwall into Euston.”

With trains expected to be busier than usual, passengers are encouraged to travel either earlier or later to avoid peak times, as stations will be particularly crowded.

Marcus Jones, Network Rail Western Route Director, noted: “We know the disruption isn’t ideal, but these upgrades are essential to improve the railway for the future.”