Great Western Railway (GWR) has informed travellers that engineering work will disrupt train services between London Paddington and Reading this Sunday (December 1).
Network Rail is implementing improvement work, including drainage upgrades and track replacements, on Sundays in November and December to enhance reliability and performance.
As a result, no trains will operate to or from London Paddington until 10.30am on December 1.
The railway company has also warned that services over the weekend may be busier than usual due to increased passenger demand from Christmas shopping, Christmas markets, and local sports events.
GWR has provided travel advice for the affected weekend.
On Saturday, November 30, the services are expected to be very busy between 9am and midday, and between 4pm and 7.30pm on the following routes: local Exeter services, between Cardiff and Bristol/Bath, and between Swindon and Bath/Bristol.
Customers in these areas are advised to travel outside of these times for a more comfortable journey.
On Sunday, December 1, no direct train services will run to or from London Paddington until 10.30am.
Instead, trains will operate between Reading and Ealing Broadway, where passengers can change for London Underground services.
After 10.30am, train services will resume, but will be reduced between London Paddington and Reading as only two out of four tracks will be available.
GWR has stated that crew availability is likely to result in additional short-notice cancellations and alterations, particularly on routes between London Paddington and Bristol/South Wales and London Paddington and Devon/Cornwall.
The company has advised customers to travel only if necessary and to consider changing their plans if possible.
Those who need to travel should check the latest information on the day of travel.
Customers with tickets for travel on December 1 can use them to travel on December 2.
Network Rail western route director Marcus Jones said: "These upgrades are essential to our goal of reducing disruption and improving the resilience of this stretch of line into the future.
"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."
GWR customer services director Rachel Geliamassi added: "The impact weather can have on the smooth running of trains has been only too evident over the past week or so, and work like this is vital to improving the resilience and reliability of train services.
"Due to the engineering work and crew availability, trains on Sunday will, however, be significantly reduced and we would urge people to travel the day after where possible, freeing up space for those who must travel on the Sunday.
"We have altered tickets to allow people to do so."
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