Engineering work is taking place between London Paddington and Slough, closing all lines during the Christmas period.
Heathrow Express:
It is not yet known how Heathrow Express will be affected by this engineering work.
Great Western Railway:
Sunday 23 to Monday 24 December, and on Sunday 30 December:
Long distance service between London Paddington and Worcester Shrub Hill / Hereford / Bristol Temple Meads / South Wales / South West England will run to / from Reading instead of London Paddington.
Local services between London Paddington and Reading / Didcot Parkway / Oxford will run to / from Slough instead of London Paddington. A reduced timetable will be operation.
Replacement buses will operate between:
- Slough and Hillingdon for London Underground services.
- Slough and Ealing Broadway (for Underground services) via Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton and Langley. On Sunday evening and Monday morning, these buses will be extended to run between Slough and London Paddington.
The "Night Riviera" Sleeper service between London Paddington and Penzance will run on Friday 21 December, and will then restart on the evening of Tuesday 1 January. Between these dates, the sleeper service will not operate.
Customers travelling between London and Oxford should use Chiltern Railways services.
Additionally:
On Sunday 23 December only:
- Buses will replace trains between Slough and Burnham after 17:30.
- Buses will run between Maidenhead / Marlow and High Wycombe for Chiltern Railways services to / from London Marylebone.
On Monday 24 December only:
- An hourly bus will run between West Drayton, Iver and Langley. Services will finish between 21:30 and 22:30.
On Sunday 30 December only:
- Early morning trains to / from Burnham will be replaced by buses between Burnham and Slough, connecting with train services to / from Slough.
Ticket acceptance:
On Sunday 23 and Monday 24, and on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 December, the following ticket acceptance will apply.
- Customers travelling between Oxford (and to / from stations towards Hereford) and London can use Chiltern Railways service between Oxford and London Marylebone.
- Customers can also use Chiltern Railways services between High Wycombe and London Paddington.
- Customers travelling to / from Windsor can use South Western Railway services between Windsor & Eton Riverside and London Waterloo.
- Customers travelling between London and South West England are advised to use South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.
- Customers travelling between London and Reading can use South Western Railway services between Reading and London Waterloo.
- Valid tickets will be accepted on London Underground services between Hillingdon / Ealing Broadway and London
Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 December:
No services will operate.
Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 December:
A reduced service of four trains per hour (2 local and 2 long distance) will operate between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway / Oxford,
Train services between London Paddington and Newbury / Bedwyn will operate between Reading and Newbury / Bedwyn only.
Services between London Paddington and Greenford will not run.
Monday 31 December:
A reduced service of four trains per hour (2 local and 2 long distance) will operate between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway / Oxford,
Train services between London Paddington and Newbury / Bedwyn will operate between Reading and Newbury / Bedwyn only.
Services between London Paddington and Greenford will run.
TfL Rail:
Sunday 23 to Wednesday 26 December:
No TfL Rail services will operate.
Thursday 27 and Friday 28 December:
A reduced service of two trains per hour will run between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4. No trains will call at Acton Mainline, West Ealing or Hanwell.
Saturday 30 to Monday 31 December:
It is not yet known how TfL Rail services will be affected by this engineering work.
Check before you travel:
These changes are not currently shown in the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner, please check back nearer to the time of travel.
You can find the location of your bus replacement by checking station signs or by searching for your station on our station information pages
Bicycles:
Non folding bicycles are not allowed on rail replacement bus services at any time. Folding bicycles are allowed if fully folded. For more information, please see here.
Project Information:
The Crossrail Project is building the Elizabeth line to link Reading and Heathrow in the west with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, via new 21km tunnels under central London. This will increase London's rail capacity, cut passenger journey times across the city, encourage regeneration and generate significant employment opportunities.
This project is part of the London Railway Upgrade Plan, creating new connections and increasing capacity in peak hour by 30%.