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 Trains will not run between Reading and West Drayton. A full train service will operate between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington / Abbey Wood. No trains will call at Hanwell, West Ealing and Acton Main Line. Rail replacement buses will run between Maidenhead and Slough 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 Maidenhead. 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: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Journey Planner . 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 21 Oct 2026, 10:31

Operators: Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway, Heathrow Express

Engineering work is taking place between West Drayton and Slough, closing various lines until 21:00 on Sunday. Most services to / from London Paddington will depart up to 5 minutes earlier OR later than usual. Saturday: Trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads (and beyond) will run to an amended and reduced service of 2 trains per hour. Some of these trains will call additionally at Didcot Parkway Trains between London Paddington and Swindon (and beyond) will run to an amended timetable Trains between London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa will run between Swindon and Cheltenham Spa only Trains between London Paddington and Newbury will run between Reading and Newbury only Trains between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway will run a reduced service of 1 train per hour between London Paddington and Reading, and 2 trains per hour between Reading and Didcot Parkway The following individual trains are amended further: The 06:38 Plymouth to London Paddington service will not call at Hungerford The 06:54 Swansea to London Paddington service will not call at Didcot Parkway The 08:27 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington service will not run The 09:15 London Paddington to Swindon service will not run The 09:18 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington service will not run The 10:31 Swindon to London Paddington service will not run The 10:34 London Paddington to Weston-super-Mare service will not run The 12:36 London Paddington to Exeter St Davids service (departing 12:33) will not call at Hungerford The 13:02 Weston-super-Mare to London Paddington service will start from Bristol Temple Meads The 13:30 London Paddington to Weston-super-Mare service (departing 13:33) will not call at Nailsea & Backwell / Yatton The 16:30 London Paddington to Taunton service (departing 16:33) will not call at Nailsea & Backwell / Yatton The 20:03 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington service will terminate at Reading Sunday: No trains will run between London Paddington and Reading until approximately 21:00 on Sunday. Until 21:00, trains will run to a reduced and amended timetable. Most trains will start from / terminate at Reading. The following services are amended further: The 06:19 and 07:42 Reading to London Paddington services will terminate at Maidenhead. Earlier rail replacement buses will run between Slough / Burnham and Maidenhead for connections The 06:38 and 07:38 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway services will start from Maidenhead. Earlier rail replacement buses will run between Slough / Burnham and Maidenhead for connections The 07:36 London Paddington to Great Malvern service will run from Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill The 10:47 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington service will terminate at Swindon The 17:35 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa service will start from Swindon Trains between Slough and Windsor & Eton Central, between Maidenhead and Marlow, and between Twyford and Henley-on-Thames are not affected by this work and will run normally. You can use your tickets on Elizabeth Line buses between Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Langley and Slough, on South Western Railway trains between London Waterloo and Reading, and on Chiltern Railway trains between London Marylebone and Oxford to complete your journey on Sunday. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 9 Jan 2027, 00:00 · Until 10 Jan 2027, 23:59 · Source changed 19 Oct 2026, 13:31

Operators: Great Western Railway

Engineering work is taking place overnight between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, closing some lines. From 22:45 until the end of service, buses will replace late night trains between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway. Check before you travel: These changes are not currently shown in the National Rail Journey Planner, please check back nearer to the time of travel. 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 21 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 21 Dec 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 16 Oct 2026, 16:26

Operators: Chiltern Railways

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 scheduled to take place between Neasden and Harrow-on-the-Hill has been cancelled, and will not take place. Trains will run as normal between London Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway via Amersham. Check before you travel: The Journey Planner has been amended to reflect the cancellation of the engineering work. To find options for your journey, please use the National Rail Journey Planner .

From 7 Nov 2026, 00:00 · Until 8 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 7 Oct 2026, 05:12

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between London Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, closing all lines via Amersham. No trains will run between London Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway via Amersham. Replacement buses will run between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway. You can use your ticket at no extra cost on London Underground Metropolitan line services between Baker Street and Amersham. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Journey Planner . You can plan your journey on London Underground 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 27 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 29 Dec 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 5 Oct 2026, 11:33

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Bicester Village and Oxford, closing all lines on Monday to Thursday evenings. From 23:15 until the end of service each night, replacement buses will run between Bicester North and Oxford, calling at Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway. Trains which usually run between London Marylebone and Oxford will be amended to run between London Marylebone and Bicester North / Banbury. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 2 Nov 2026, 00:00 · Until 5 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 24 Sept 2026, 11:56

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Oxford and Oxford Parkway, closing all lines on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Between 22:55 and 08:35, buses will replace trains between Oxford and Oxford Parkway. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 31 Oct 2026, 00:00 · Until 1 Nov 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 24 Sept 2026, 10:31

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Great Missenden / Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, closing all lines until 14:00 on Sunday. No trains will run between London Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway via Amersham, or between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury. Rail replacement buses will operate between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, and also between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury. You can use your ticket at no extra cost on London Underground Metropolitan line services between Baker Street and Amersham. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail Journey Planner . You can plan your journey on London Underground 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 13 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 13 Dec 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 23 Sept 2026, 19:09

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Heyford and Kings Sutton, closing all lines overnight. From approximately 23:45 until the end of service on Tuesday to Friday evenings, trains between London Marylebone and Oxford will be diverted to run between London Marylebone and Bicester North / Banbury only. Rail replacement buses will run between Bicester North and Oxford, calling at Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 15 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 18 Dec 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 21 Sept 2026, 12:20

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, closing all lines. Buses will replace trains between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 24 Oct 2026, 00:00 · Until 25 Oct 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 21 Sept 2026, 12:16

Operators: Chiltern Railways

Engineering work is taking place between Oxford Parkway and Oxford, closing all lines on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Between 22:55 on Saturday and 08:35 on Sunday, buses will replace trains between Oxford Parkway and Oxford. Check before you travel: You can plan your journey using the National Rail 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 5 Dec 2026, 00:00 · Until 6 Dec 2026, 23:59 · Source changed 21 Sept 2026, 12:16

Operators: Chiltern Railways