ANYONE planning to take their mums to London on Mother’s day have been warned about rail disruptions.

Passengers travelling between Reading and Paddington on March 26 are advised to start their journey after 1pm.

There will be no trains in the morning and commuters will have to take a bus in order to get to the capital.

Passengers travelling on services between Reading and London Paddington this Sunday, 26 March, should check before they travel and plan their journeys to start after 1300 if possible.

Network Rail will undertake vital Crossrail work between Reading and Hayes & Harlington. Great Western Railway will operate diverted rail or bus replacement services between Reading and London Paddington until 1300.

Where possible customers are advised to travel after 1300 or check before they travel and use the alternative routes provided. Passengers with tickets for Sunday morning will be able to travel on any service Sunday afternoon/evening.

Travelling between Reading and London Paddington?

· A bus replacement service will operate between Reading and Heathrow Airport, where passengers will be able to change for Heathrow Connect/Heathrow Express services to London Paddington

· A bus replacement service will operate between Hayes & Harlington and Burnham

· Alternative route to London: Rail replacement buses will also run from Reading to Hillingdon to connect with London Underground Metropolitan line trains via Wembley Park to Baker Street (central London)

Travelling between Bristol and London Paddington?

· Trains between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington will divert after Swindon and will terminate at Oxford. Change at Oxford for services to London Marylebone (central London). Change at Swindon for trains to Didcot Parkway and Reading

Travelling between South Wales and London Paddington?

· Trains between Port Talbot Parkway and London Paddington will terminate at Reading. Customers travelling to London should change at Swindon and Oxford for train services to London Marylebone

Travelling between Cheltenham Spa and London Paddington?

· Trains will run between Cheltenham Spa and Swindon only. Passengers travelling to London should change at Swindon and Oxford for train services to London Marylebone (central London). Alternative trains will also run from Swindon to Didcot Parkway and Reading

Travelling between Worcester and London Paddington?

· Trains between Hereford, Great Malvern, Worcester Shrub Hill and London Paddington will terminate at Reading. Passengers travelling to London should change at Oxford for Chiltern Railway services to London Marylebone (central London)

Travelling between Devon and Cornwall and London Paddington?

· Train services from the West of England will terminate at Reading. Customers travelling to London Paddington should change at Reading for a rail replacement bus service to Heathrow Central, which connects with Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect trains to London Paddington

This Sunday’s works will see Network Rail complete the electrification of 12 miles of railway west of London between Stockley Bridge Junction and Maidenhead. The electrification is critical for GWR to introduce new electric services between Maidenhead and London Paddington in May 2017 and for new Crossrail Elizabeth line services in 2018.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “The Thames Valley is one of the most popular rail corridors in the UK. We have promised the current fleet would be upgraded to provide much needed additional capacity and more comfortable, quieter journeys.”

For details on the work or for travel information visit https://www.gwr.com/

“We started to run half hourly new electric trains in January, delivering over 10,000 more seats a day between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. We look forward to being able to extend these services beyond Hayes to Maidenhead this coming May as Network Rail continues its work to upgrade the railway.”

Nicky Hughes, Head of Communications for Network Rail, Western Route said:

“Due to unforeseen circumstances vital engineering work now needs to take place at short notice from 0100 hrs to 1300 Sunday 26 March. Network Rail and GWR are working together to minimise disruption to passengers. As part of our Railway Upgrade plan we will be undertaking essential works to deliver the new electric services in May this year. We apologise for the disruption to services this Sunday and thank passengers for their patience whilst we work to upgrade the railway”.

Alongside electrification of the Great West mainline, GWR’s new class 387 Electrostar and new Intercity Express Trains, Crossrail forms part of the biggest upgrade to the UK’s rail network and the Great Western mainline in a generation, providing thousands of additional seats and more frequent services each day in London and the Thames Valley.

For more information on GWR’s new trains please click here.