COMMUTERS in Reading are being urged to plan their train journeys carefully owing to the six-day closure of London Paddington Station over the Christmas period.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is carrying out improvements to the station over the festive season, meaning that rail services will not operate after December 23.

There will be no services running from Christmas Eve up to and including December 29 between Paddington and Ealing Broadway.

However, passengers will be able to change at Ealing Broadway for London Underground services.

Phil Hufton, managing director for network operations, said: “Work takes place all-year round as part of our railway upgrade plan, but we tend to carry out larger upgrades over bank holidays as this is when passenger numbers are at their lowest.

"This Christmas will see significant investment in our railway with thousands of Network Rail’s orange army working hard to deliver hundreds of crucial projects to improve Britain’s railways.

"This will mean changes to services over the festive period, so we strongly advise passengers to plan their journeys as early as possible."

The work taking place in London and the Thames Valley is one of 200 projects being delivered across the UK rail network, as part of a £103 million investment.

Mark Hopwood, GWR managing director, added: "These improvement works will ultimately increase capacity and connectivity in London and the Thames Valley, and on the wider Great Western network.

"New trains are already in operation on some GWR routes and more are on their way during the course of 2017 and 2018, delivering more seats and more frequent services."

For more information, visit: gwr.com/travel-updates/christmas-travel