Disruptions & planned work

Major engineering work is taking place between Slough and London Paddington, closing all lines over the Christmas and New Year period. Elizabeth line: Saturday 26 December: As part of the closure of the railway on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, no trains will run. Sunday 27 December to Wednesday 30 December: Trains will not run between Reading and London Paddington. Trains will be amended to run between London Paddington and Stratford (London) / Abbey Wood only. Rail replacement buses will run between Slough and Ealing Broadway / Hillingdon to help you complete your journey. (Hillingdon and Ealing Broadway both have connections to / from central London via the underground). If you have a National Rail paper ticket or e-ticket, you can use your ticket at no extra cost on the following operators’ services: London Underground Piccadilly line services on any reasonable route to / from Heathrow Airport Great Western Railway services between Reading and Slough Thursday 31 December and Friday 1 January Trains will not run between Reading and Slough. Trains will be amended to run between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington / Stratford (London) / Abbey Wood only. Rail replacement buses will run between Slough and Hayes & Harlington to help you complete your journey. If you have a National Rail paper ticket or e-ticket, you can use your ticket at no extra cost on the Great Western Railway services between Reading and Slough. Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 January It is not yet known how Elizabeth line will be affected by these engineering works. Additional information: Across this period, Elizabeth line are affected on other parts of their network. You can find more information on the service changes between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield . Great Western Railway: Saturday 26 December: As part of the closure of the railway on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, no trains will run. Sunday 27 December to Sunday 3 January: Long distance trains: No long distance trains will run between Reading and London Paddington. Trains that usually run between Carmarthen / Swansea / Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington will divert to run via Oxford / Milton Keynes Central (not calling at either) and run to / from London Euston instead of to / from London Paddington. Trains that usually run between Penzance / Plymouth / Hereford / Great Malvern / Worcester / Swindon and London Paddington will be amended to start / terminate at Reading instead of starting / terminating at London Paddington. Local trains: No Great Western Railway trains will run between Slough and London Paddington. An amended train service will run between Reading and Slough. Trains between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central / Maidenhead / Marlow, and also between Twyford and Henley-on-Thames will operate normally. Greenford - West Ealing: From Monday 28 December to Sunday 3 January , trains will not run between these stations. You can use your ticket at no extra cost on London Buses and London Underground services. Great Western Railway ticket acceptance: Chiltern Railways between Oxford and London Marylebone South Western Railway between Reading and London Waterloo South Western Railway between Windsor & Eton Riverside (a short distance from Windsor & Eton Central) and London Waterloo Heathrow Express: Saturday 26 December to Wednesday 30 December: No train services will run. Thursday 31 December to Sunday 3 January: A normal train service will run. Check before you travel: If you're travelling with Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express, or with Elizabeth line (up to and including Friday 1 January) you can plan your journey using the National Rail Journey Planner . If you're travelling with Elizabeth line on Saturday 2 or Sunday 3 January, please check back closer to the time of travel. If you are using contactless payment / Oyster card, you can also use the above alternative travel options but you will be required to pay the normal tap in / tap out fares for your journey. You can plan your journey on London Underground / London Buses by using the Transport for London Journey Planner . Replacement bus travel advice: For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page . You can find the pick-up and drop-off location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page . Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

From 26 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 3 Jan 2027, 23:59 · Source changed 13 Oct 2026, 09:37

Operators: Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express

Engineering work is taking place between Maidenhead and London Paddington, closing all lines. Background information on the work can be found below. No trains will be able to run between Maidenhead / Heathrow Airport and London Paddington all weekend. Elizabeth line: The only Elizabeth line trains that will operate throughout the weekend will be a limited service of 2 trains per hour between Reading and Maidenhead. There will be no Elizabeth line service between Maidenhead and Abbey Wood, or between Heathrow Airport and Shenfield, throughout the weekend. Replacement bus services will operate between: Maidenhead and Slough Slough and Ealing Broadway (to connect with London Underground services) Stratford and Romford, calling at all stations except Maryland Romford and Shenfield, calling at all stations. Buses will start from Newbury Park London Underground station (to connect with London Underground services) and then continue at Romford Between Ealing Broadway and Stratford - If you have a National Rail paper ticket or e-ticket, you can use your ticket at no extra cost on London Bus and London Underground routes. If you are using contactless payment / Oyster card, you can also use the above alternative travel options but you will be required to pay the normal tap in / tap out fares for your journey. Great Western Railway: No trains will run between Maidenhead and London Paddington in either direction. As a result, the following significant changes will be made to train services: High-speed services: Bristol area / South Wales - London Paddington: trains will either terminate at, and start back from Reading (see below), or will be diverted between Swindon and London (via an alternative route through Oxford and Milton Keynes Central), and will run to and from London Euston station - journey times will be extended. South-west England / the Hereford and Worcester area - London Paddington: trains will be amended to terminate at, and start back from Reading (see below). Cheltenham Spa - London Paddington: trains will be amended to terminate at, and start back from Swindon. Swindon - London Paddington: trains will be amended to terminate at, and start back from Reading (see below). Oxford - London Paddington: a very reduced train service will operate between Oxford and Reading only. Alternative services are available between Oxford and London Marylebone with Chiltern Railways. Oxford - Swindon / Bristol Temple Meads: trains will not run but additional trains will operate between Swindon, Chippenham, Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads. Newbury - Reading: trains will run to an amended timetable, and some trains will call additionally at Newbury Racecourse. How to travel between Reading and central London If your train terminates at, or starts from Reading, there will be a special fast direct Great Western Railway train service running each way between Reading and Guildford. These trains will connect with South Western Railway services between Guildford and London Waterloo. Please be aware that the South Western Railway trains on the route between Reading and London Waterloo are likely to be extremely busy or restricted due to a rugby event all weekend at Twickenham. Local services: Reading - London Paddington: trains will only operate between Reading, Twyford and Maidenhead Didcot Parkway - London Paddington: trains will only operate between Didcot Parkway, stations to / from Reading, Twyford and Maidenhead Maidenhead - Taplow - Burnham - Slough: a replacement bus service will operate for onward connections. Slough customers can travel via Windsor & Eton Central, then walk to Windsor & Eton Riverside for stations to / from London Waterloo Slough - Windsor & Eton Central: trains will operate normally except that last 2 trains each way will be replaced by road transport West Ealing - Greenford: trains will not run . You can use your ticket at no extra cost on London Buses and London Underground services Maidenhead - Marlow: trains will run normally Twyford - Henley-on-Thames: trains will run normally Night Riviera Sleeper services on Sunday night: 23:50 London Paddington to Penzance “Night Riviera” Sleeper service will be amended, and will start from London Euston at 23:15. 21:15 Penzance to London Paddington “Night Riviera” Sleeper Service will operate to London Paddington as normal. Heathrow Express: No trains will run between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport. Background information: Network Rail are replacing and enhancing the eastern side of Dolphin Junction, between Slough and Langley stations, to reduce rail traffic congestion and improve reliability for journeys through the Thames Valley into London. It follows an upgrade on the western side of the junction during Christmas 2025. Work is taking place to install new overhead electrification equipment. With a new track layout being installed, the position of existing masts and gantries that carry the overhead power lines needs to change, along with some of the signalling equipment. Points operating equipment is being updated to state of the art technology. Once complete, the new track layout will reduce congestion by allowing trains to enter the junction, change lines and exit at greater speed. Project information on the work taking place is available on the Network Rail website . Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner . You can plan your journey on London Underground / London Buses by using the Transport for London Journey Planner . Replacement bus travel advice: For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page . You can find the pick-up and drop-off location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page . Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

From 28 Nov 2026, 00:00 · Until 29 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 8 Oct 2026, 09:21

Operators: Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express

Engineering work is taking place between Twyford and Reading, closing some lines. As a result, the 00:18 Henley-on-Thames to Reading service will run between Henley-on-Thames and Twyford only. You can use your ticket at no extra cost on alternative trains between Twyford and Reading. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Journey Planner .

From 3 Nov 2026, 00:00 · Until 5 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 24 Sept 2026, 12:06

Operators: Great Western Railway

Engineering work is taking place between Twyford and Reading, closing some lines. As a result, the 00:18 Henley-on-Thames to Reading service will terminate at Twyford. You can use alternative Great Western Railway trains between Twyford and Reading at no extra cost. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner

From 20 Oct 2026, 00:00 · Until 23 Oct 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 10 Sept 2026, 12:30

Operators: Great Western Railway

Engineering work is taking place between Twyford and Reading, closing some lines. As a result, the 00:18 Henley-on-Thames to Reading service will terminate at Twyford. You can use other Great Western Railway services between Twyford and Reading at no extra cost. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner .

From 17 Nov 2026, 00:00 · Until 19 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 24 Aug 2026, 11:46

Operators: Great Western Railway