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Engineering work to see reduced service between Paddington, Heathrow, and Reading

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For the next two weekends (23-25 November and 30 November-2 December), engineering work will be taking place as part Network Rail’s performance improvement plan – known as Project Brunel – which will mean a reduced train service is operating between London Paddington, Heathrow Airport and Reading.

This work includes vital drainage upgrades for areas of the line that frequently flood, as well as replacing track and sleepers (which support the rails) that have come to the end of their useable life.

On Saturday 23 November, GWR services will continue to operate; however, some late-night services between Reading and London Paddington have been retimed. Elizabeth line services will continue to run.

On Sunday 24 November there will be a reduced service operating between London Paddington, Heathrow Airport and Reading, with no trains between Paddington and Reading before 11:15.

On these dates:

  • There will be no direct services operating to/from London Paddington from Saturday night until 11:15 on Sunday. After 1115, trains will run but services between London Paddington and Reading will be reduced as only two out of four tracks will be available.
  • Saturday night and Sunday morning passengers for Heathrow will need to use the Piccadilly line between Hammersmith and the airport.
  • All day Saturday and Sunday there will be no Piccadilly line services between Hammersmith and King’s Cross St Pancras.
  • The District line will be operating normally between central London and Hammersmith. Customers can use the District line to Hammersmith and cross the platform to join the Piccadilly line. No steps, lifts or escalators are required to make this interchange.

GWR customers are advised to check their journey on the day of travel as crew availability will result in additional short-notice cancellations or alterations, especially between London Paddington and Bristol, and London Paddington and South Wales.

To help, GWR customers with tickets for Sunday 24 November can use these to travel on Saturday 23 November or Monday 25 November and are encouraged to do so.

On Saturday 30 November, Sunday 1 and Monday 2 December there will be a reduced service operating between London Paddington, Heathrow Airport and Reading between 9pm on Saturday and 5am on Monday.

On these dates:

  • There will be no services operating to/from London Paddington from Saturday night until 11am on Sunday.
  • Saturday night and Sunday morning Heathrow passengers will need to use the Piccadilly line between central London and the airport.

GWR customers are advised to check their journey on the day of travel as crew availability will result in additional short-notice cancellations or alterations, especially between London Paddington and Bristol, and London Paddington and South Wales.

Marcus Jones, Network Rail’s Western Route director, said: “This November and December, we have a number of packages of engineering work in the Thames Valley area, which will unfortunately mean some disruption for passengers.

“Our work to improve the performance of the line in the Thames Valley is also well underway and we’ll be upgrading drainage systems and the track later in November and into early December. These upgrades are vitally important to ensure that we can continue to see positive changes.

“I’d like to thank passengers in advance for their patience. There’s never a good time to close the line, however we do try to ensure that any disruption takes place when fewer people are using the railway, such as at weekends. Please check before you travel on weekends in November and early December.

“We have made good progress with our Thames Valley improvement plan, although there is more to do. These upgrades are essential to our goal of reducing disruption and improving the resilience of this stretch of line into the future.”

Image credit: Network Rail

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