Lines reopened: disruption between Oxford / Swindon and Reading expected until the end of the day 

Route(s) affected

between Oxford / Swindon and Reading

Description

The emergency services have completed their work following an earlier incident where a person was hit by a train. This has allowed all lines between Oxford / Swindon and Reading to reopen. Whilst service recovers, trains may still be delayed by up to 45 minutes, revised or cancelled.

We expect that disruption will continue until the end of the day. 

A visual disruption map video is available.

If you've been affected by what happened on the network today, there is always someone to talk to. You can contact the Samaritans on 116 123 from any phone for a confidential chat.

CrossCountry customer advice:

If you are travelling between Manchester / Birmingham and Reading / Southampton / Bournemouth via London, you can use your ticket on the following services:

• Avanti West Coast services between Manchester Piccadilly / Birmingham New Street and London Euston

• Chiltern Railways services between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone

• London Underground services between London Terminals. Please show your ticket to gateline staff on the Underground to be allowed through the ticket gates.

• Great Western Railway services between London Paddington and Reading / Bristol and Reading

• South Western Railway services between London Waterloo and Bournemouth

If you are travelling between Birmingham and Reading via Oxford, you can use your ticket on the following services:

• CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Worcestershire Parkway

• Great Western Railway services between Worcestershire Parkway and Reading

• Chiltern Railways services between Birmingham Moor Street and Haddenham and Thame Parkway

• Chiltern Railways services between Haddenham and Thame Parkway and Oxford

Road Transport:

CrossCountry are looking to source rail replacement road transport between Banbury and Oxford.

You may also use your ticket on the following operators:

• West Midlands Railway services between Coventry and Leamington Spa

• Great Western Railway services between Banbury, Didcot Parkway, Reading and Basingstoke

You do not need to amend your ticket to use it on these services.

Other Options:

If your CrossCountry train is cancelled, then you can use your ticket on the two CrossCountry services operating before and the two CrossCountry services after your cancelled service.

Unfortunately, any seat reservations will not be carried over, but Coach B, H and L are our unreserved coaches on CrossCountry services (where available) so please head to them.

If you decide to travel from a different station due to this disruption and need to return to that station later, you will also be able to use your existing ticket to do this at no extra cost

Great Western Railway customer advice:

Your ticket can be used, at no extra cost, with the following operators:

• Cross Country services between Banbury and Southampton Central via Oxford, Reading and Basingstoke - please note that these services may also be disrupted

Your ticket can be used, at no extra cost, in both directions on the following local bus routes. Just show your rail ticket to the driver:

• Reading Bus:

  • route sky blue 16: Reading (Station Road), Reading West (Oxford Road), Tilehurst (Kentwood Circle)

  • route azure 43: Reading (Friar Street), Reading West (Oxford Road), Tilehurst (Station), Pangbourne (George Hotel)

• Thames Travel:

  • route X34: Newbury (Wharf), Didcot Parkway (Station)

  • route X40: Oxford (Westgate), Reading (Northern Interchange / Station Road)

If your train is cancelled, you may travel on either of the two services before, or two services after, your original train. If these are peak services or less flexible, you can still travel with your original ticket, at no extra cost.

During this disruption if you wish to use local buses as an alternative means of transport and the local bus is not accepting Great Western Railway tickets please purchase a ticket on the bus, keep it and send it, together with your train ticket, to them to claim for a refund.

Due to trains and crews being delayed, disruption is likely for the next few hours.

Some trains will be revised, only completing parts of their normal journeys, and there will also be some cancellations.

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.