Bank Holiday Information: Great Western Railway

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Easter Bank Holiday Travel Advice

(please scroll down for the May bank holidays travel advice)

Friday 3 April - Good Friday

Changes to Great Western Railway service on Good Friday

As a result of the Bank Holiday, some peak time trains will not run on Friday 3 April.

In addition, the 06:00 London Paddington to Penzance will start from Bristol Temple Meads, and the 18:08 London Paddington to Frome will terminate Newbury.

Maidenhead - Marlow trains will operate hourly throughout the day.

Changes to early morning trains in the Portsmouth area

Due to early morning engineering work between Portsmouth Harbour and Cosham, the following service changes will be made:

04:50 Fratton to Bristol Temple Meads service will start from Southampton Central at 05:33. For Fratton, Cosham, Portchester and Fareham, you should travel by later services
06:01 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central service will start from Fareham at 06:25. For Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea, Fratton and Cosham, you should travel by later services

After 18:00: Buses will replace trains between Westbury, Castle Cary and Taunton

From 18:00 until the end of service, due to engineering work closing the lines between Westbury and Taunton, buses will replace trains between Westbury and Castle Cary (via Frome / Bruton) and between Castle Cary and Taunton.

Also from 18:00 onwards, long distance trains between London and Exeter / Plymouth / Penzance will be retimed by a few minutes, and diverted to run via Bristol Temple Meads (additionally calling there).

Amended 21:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads service

Due to engineering work in the Southampton area, the 21:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads service will divert via an alternative route between Fareham and Southampton Central. It will not call at Eastleigh or Southampton Airport Parkway. It will run to normal times departing Southampton Central and beyond. For Eastleigh and Southampton Airport Parkway, you should travel by alternative services.

Early morning service changes in the Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury areas

Due to early morning engineering work, the following service changes will be made:

05:10 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington service will not run
06:12 Frome to London Paddington service will start from Westbury at 06:22. An earlier rail connection at 06:07 from Frome to Westbury can be used to connect with this train
06:18 Yeovil Pen Mill to Filton Abbey Wood service will start from Westbury at 07:18. For Yeovil Pen Mill, Bruton or Frome, you should use later train services instead

Cancelled 05:31 Bedwyn to London Paddington service

Due to early morning engineering work, the 05:31 Bedwyn to London Paddington service will not run. You should travel on later train services instead.

Saturday 4 April

Buses will replace trains between Westbury, Castle Cary and Taunton

Due to engineering work closing the lines between Westbury and Taunton, buses will replace trains all day between Westbury and Castle Cary (via Frome / Bruton) and between Castle Cary and Taunton.

Long distance trains between London and Exeter / Plymouth / Penzance will be retimed by a few minutes, and diverted to run via Bristol Temple Meads (additionally calling there).

Amended 21:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads service

Amended 23:45 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington service

Due to engineering work late on Saturday night, the 23:45 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington service will not call at Burnham or Taplow. Connecting replacement buses will run between Slough and Burnham / Taplow.

Additionally, the train will terminate at Ealing Broadway. You can use London Underground services at no extra cost between Ealing Broadway and central London.

Sunday 5 April

Buses will replace trains between Westbury, Castle Cary and Taunton

Due to engineering work closing the lines between Westbury and Taunton, buses will replace trains all day between Westbury and Castle Cary (via Frome / Bruton) and between Castle Cary and Taunton.

Long distance trains between London and Exeter / Plymouth / Penzance will be retimed by a few minutes, and diverted to run via Bristol Temple Meads (additionally calling there).

Changes to services to and from London Paddington

Due to engineering work in the London Paddington area the following service changes will be made:

Before 07:20:

06:20 Reading to London Paddington will depart at 06:40 and will operate later than normal throughout
06:38 London Paddington to Reading will not run. You should travel by later train services

After 07:20:

Long distance trains to / from London Paddington will be amended to run up to 8 minutes earlier or later than usual. Trains between London Paddington and Didcot Parkway will be retimed to run a few minutes later than usual.

Changes to late night trains between Cardiff Central and Swansea

Due to late night engineering work, the 20:45 (departing at 20:37) and 21:45 (departing at 21:37) London Paddington to Swansea services will divert via an alternative route between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, arriving at and departing from Bridgend and beyond approximately 25 minutes later than normal.

Amended 19:34 Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour service

Due to engineering work in the Southampton area, the 19:34 Bristol Temple Meads to Portsmouth Harbour service will divert via an alternative route between Southampton Central and Fareham. It will not call at Southampton Airport Parkway, Eastleigh, Botley or Hedge End. The train will arrive at and depart from Fareham and beyond earlier than normal. For Southampton Airport Parkway, Eastleigh, Botley and Hedge End, you should travel by alternative services.

Amended 00:34 London Paddington to Reading service

Due to engineering work late on Saturday night and early on Sunday morning, the 00:34 London Paddington to Reading Sunday morning service will not call at Burnham or Taplow. Connecting replacement buses will run between Slough and Burnham / Taplow.

Early morning and late night trains will not stop at Burnham

Due to early morning and late night engineering work, the following trains will not call at Burnham. Connecting buses will run between Slough and Burnham.:

06:40 Reading to London Paddington
07:42 Reading to London Paddington
23:31 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway
23:52 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington

Monday 6 April - Easter Monday

Changes to Great Western Railway service on Easter Monday

As a result of the Bank Holiday, some peak time trains will not run on Monday 6 April.

In addition, the 06:00 London Paddington to Penzance will start from Bristol Temple Meads, and the 18:08 London Paddington to Frome will terminate Newbury.

Maidenhead - Marlow trains will operate hourly throughout the day.

Changes to late night trains through Southampton

Due to engineering work in the Southampton area, the following service changes will be made:

21:21 Bristol Parkway to Portsmouth & Southsea service will divert via an alternative route between Southampton Central and Fareham. It will call at Fareham and beyond approximately 13 minutes earlier than normal.

21:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Westbury service will divert via an alternative route between Fareham and Southampton Central. It will not call at Eastleigh or Southampton Airport Parkway. It will run to normal times departing Southampton Central and beyond. For Eastleigh and Southampton Airport Parkway, you should travel by alternative services.

Changes to early morning and late night trains between Cardiff Central and Swansea

Due to early morning and late night engineering work, the following service changes will be made:

03:46 Swansea to London Paddington service will not run. You should travel by later train services
20:48 London Paddington to Swansea service will divert via an alternative route between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, calling at Bridgend and beyond a few minutes later than normal
21:48 London Paddington to Swansea service will divert via an alternative route between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, calling at Bridgend and beyond later than normal
22:49 London Paddington to Swansea service will divert via an alternative route between Cardiff Central and Bridgend, calling at Bridgend and beyond later than normal

Early morning service changes between Castle Cary and Westbury

Due to early Monday morning engineering work closing lines between Castle Cary and Westbury, the following service changes will be made:

05:10 Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington (via Westbury) service will not run. You should travel by later services
05:31 Bedwyn to London Paddington service will not run. You should travel by later services
06:12 Frome to London Paddington service will start from Westbury at 06:22. Please note, there is no connection provided from Frome to Westbury. From Frome, you should travel by later services
06:18 Yeovil Pen Mill to Filton Abbey Wood service will start from Westbury at 07:18. For Yeovil Pen Mill, Castle Cary, Bruton and Frome, you should travel by later services

Late night service changes between Oxford and the Worcester area

Due to late night engineering work between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill, the following service changes will be made:

21:53 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill will additionally call at Didcot Parkway, and will then divert to run via Swindon and Cheltenham Spa (not calling at either). For stations between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, you should change at Didcot Parkway for an alternative rail connection towards Oxford. For stations between Oxford and Worcestershire Parkway, you should travel on the earlier 21:23 London Paddington to Oxford service, then change for the replacement bus from Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill
22:00 Hereford to London Paddington service will run between Hereford and Worcester Shrub Hill, and between Oxford and London Paddington. There will be no connection between the two train services - for travel between Hereford and London, you should travel by earlier train services. A replacement bus will run from Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford
22:51 London Paddington to Worcestershire Parkway service will terminate at Oxford. A replacement bus will run from Oxford to Worcestershire Parkway

Late night service changes between Bath Spa and Westbury

Due to late night engineering work between Bath Spa and Westbury, the following service changes will be made:

21:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads service will terminate at Westbury. Road transport will run from Westbury to Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Bath Spa. You can use alternative rail connections between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads
23:06 Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury service will terminate at Bath Spa. A replacement bus will run from Bath Spa to Freshford Village, Westwood Village (for Avoncliff), Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge and Westbury
23:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Frome service will terminate at Bath Spa. A replacement bus will run from Bath Spa to Freshford Village, Westwood Village (for Avoncliff), Bradford-on-Avon, Trowbridge Westbury and Frome

Changes to late night services to and from Pangbourne

Due to late night engineering work, the following trains cannot call at Pangbourne:

22:36 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway service. Connecting replacement buses will run between Tilehurst and Pangbourne
23:26 Didcot Parkway to London Paddington service. Connecting replacement buses will run between Tilehurst and Pangbourne
23:37 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway service. Connecting replacement buses will run between Tilehurst and Pangbourne

Amended 16:31 Barnstaple to Axminster service

Due to engineering work, the 16:31 Barnstaple to Axminster service will terminate at Exeter St Davids. For stations beyond Exeter St Davids, you can travel with South Western Railway at no extra cost.

Minor change to 23:08 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service

Due to engineering work, the 23:08 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service will change direction of travel between Lawrence Hill and Bristol Temple Meads, and arrive at Bristol Temple Meads approximately 7 minutes later than normal.

Change to the 22:30 London Paddington to Bedwyn service

Due to engineering work, the 22:30 London Paddington to Bedwyn service will start from Reading at 22:59. From London Paddington, you can travel on the 22:30 London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads train as far as Reading to connect with the amended train service.

Minor change to the 23:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Exeter St Davids service

Due to engineering work, the 23:48 Bristol Temple Meads to Exeter St Davids train will arrive at Exeter St Davids approximately 18 minutes later than normal.

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