Reduced service between Oxford / Swindon and Reading expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

Great Western Railway between Banbury and Didcot Parkway, and between Oxford and Didcot Parkway / Reading, and between Penzance / Carmarthen / Swansea / Exeter St Davids / Cardiff Central / Taunton / Weston-super-Mare / Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington, and Between Hereford / Great Malvern / Worcester Foregate Street / Worcester Shrub Hill / Cheltenham Spa / Didcot Parkway and London Paddington, and between Chippenham / Evesham and Didcot Parkway, and between Didcot Parkway and Reading

Description

Urgent repairs to the track at Didcot Parkway means that some lines are blocked. As a result, fewer trains than normal can run. Trains travelling between Oxford / Swindon and Reading may be cancelled or revised.

Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer advice:

What has happened?

Overnight, Network Rail discovered a fault with a rail in the Didcot Parkway area. For safety reasons trains are being diverted onto an alternative line through the area. To prevent congestion and further delays fewer trains will be able to run through Didcot Parkway all day today.

What are we doing about it?

All stations will continue to be served but the train service will be less frequent than normal, so you may have to wait longer than usual for your train or connection.

• Trains that run between Oxford and Reading / London Paddington will not call at Didcot Parkway, in either direction

• Fewer stopping services than usual will run between Oxford and Didcot Parkway in both directions

• Trains between Carmarthen / Swansea and London Paddington will continue to run in both directions, but trains that start or terminate at Cardiff Central to / from London Paddington respectively will be cancelled

What are my options?

If you are travelling between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, you may use your ticket to travel via Reading at no additional cost.

You may also use your ticket, at no extra cost, to travel on CrossCountry services between Oxford and Reading in both directions.

You can use the National Rail Enquiries real-time journey planner to check if a journey by rail is currently possible. If you are at a station please check the live departure boards or speak to a member of station staff.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.