Network Rail

A MAJOR train operator has issued a travel warning for Brits planning to travel next month.

Great Western Railway has confirmed that all trains will be cancelled at London Paddington for one of the busiest weekends this year.

The London station – which is the third busiest in the UK – will close to passengers from Saturday 28-29.

With this being the weekend of Black Friday, there are fears this could cause huge problems for anyone travelling to the capital for shopping.

According to GWR, all high speed services to and from Bristol and South Wales will instead go to London Euston.

Trains will also not call at Reading or Didcot Parkway, with replacement buses running between places like Ealing Broadway and Slough.

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The Night Riviera Sleeper from London to Penzance will depart from London Euston instead.

And passengers heading to London Heathrow have been warned as well.

Heathrow Express trains and the Elizabeth line will also not be operating from London Paddington.

The closure is due to huge £28million upgrade plans, which will affect other routes for the rest of the year.

The train operator warns: “Journey times to and from London will be considerably extended

“Passengers are strongly advised to check their journey before travelling, especially when travelling later in the day, to ensure that their whole journey is still possible.”

GWR Operations Director Richard Rowland added: “Although trains won’t run into London Paddington for a short period, we’ve worked closely with Network Rail and our industry partners to put alternative routes in place, including GWR services from London Euston, and connections via Waterloo and Marylebone.

“This does however mean some journeys may take longer than usual; so we ask anyone travelling to or from London during this period to plan ahead and check before they travel.”

It isn’t the only train station set to undergo huge works in the next few months.

No trains will be running at Birmingham New Street from December 24 to 28 while the station undergoes a £13million upgrade.

A HUGE UK train station is set to close for even more days – and it hits right by Christmas.

Huddersfield Station has only just reopened after a 16-day closure, which is part of a £70million upgrade.

The works date back to 2023, as the station is hoping to become fully electric by 2023.

And it has since been announced that it will close for another six days from this weekend, followed by more than a month in January 2027.

Transpennine Route Upgrade confirmed the following weekends would see the station closed in 2026:

• October 10
• October 11
• November 14
• November 15
• December 13
• December 20

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The December closures will affect the two Sundays before Christmas, so travellers are being warned to plan ahead.

This will then follow a huge 38-day closure from Christmas Eve (December 24, 2026) to January 31, 2027.

Liam O’Shaughnessy, TRU programme delivery lead for Northern, said: “The work that has been completed over the last 16 days in the Huddersfield area is another crucial step towards delivering the benefits that the Transpennine Route Upgrade will bring for customers across the north.

“We have worked closely with our industry partners to keep customers on the move, and these works have continued, and we would like to thank customers and local communities for their patience and cooperation, whilst these improvement works have been taking place.”

Upgrades include two new track lines through Huddersfield, restoration of the station’s roof and platforms, as well as upgrades at Deighton Station, and nearby road upgrades.

The station dates back to 1850, and named one of the most beautiful by Lonely Planet.

Now, it welcomes 3.1million passengers a year with routes across Yorkshire.

The station was even famously home to a cat, Felix.

Previously having a Sunday Times bestselling biography, he passed away in 2023.

BRITAIN’S railways continue to see a major overhaul as operators continue to be nationalised – with more to follow in the coming year.

Last week, the Government announced that Avanti West Coast would be taken into public ownership next spring.

Britain’s railways continue to see major changes as four rail companies are set to be nationalised in the next year.

The decision to take the majority of British train operators into public ownership formed a major part of Labour’s manifesto in 2024, believing the reforms would make trains more reliable and cheaper.

It laid out plans to bring all major railways out of the private sector by 2027.

Great Western Railway is set to be taken into public ownership on December 13, 2026.

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This is expected to be followed by East Midlands Railway at some point in the latter months of 2026.

The next to be nationalised will be Avanti West Coast, following the announcement last weekend revealing Labour will take control of the private operator from March 7, 2027.

The Government revealed it would be taking Avanti into public ownership “at the earliest opportunity” with Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, saying that the service had been “underperforming”, leaving customers “paying the price”.

CrossCountry is the final operator set to be nationalised.

A date for this is yet to be confirmed, however reports indicate it is expected to take place in autumn 2027.

• Great Western Railway – December 13, 2026
• East Midlands Railway – expected December 2026
• Avanti West Coast – March 7, 2027
• CrossCountry – TBC (expected autumn 2027)

Many rail companies have made their way into public ownership more recently, as private contracts with the Department for Transport ended.

The following services were all renationalised from 2025:

• South Western Railway (SWR) – May 25, 2025
• c2c – July 20, 2025
• Greater Anglia – October 12, 2025
• West Midlands Trains (including West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway) – February 1, 2026
• Govia Thameslink Railway (including Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink) – May 31, 2026
• Chiltern Railways – September 20, 2026

LNER, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, ScotRail and Transport for Wales Rail are already in the public sector.

At the end of last year, it was also announced that Britain’s renationalised trains were set to be rebranded in a design that split public opinion.

While nearly all passenger train operators are set to be taken into public ownership, some services, including private open-access firms, rolling stock companies and rail freight, will not be nationalised.

MAJOR railway lines are closed due to a gas leak leaving commuters stranded in rush hour – with the disruption expected to last all day.

Passengers are urged not to travel between Reading and Swindon as engineers frantically attempt to fix the issue, while other routes are seeing significant delays.

The gas leak close to railway land at Didcot Parkway in South Oxfordshire is expected to cause severe disruption throughout Wednesday.

The Reading-Didcot section of the route is the gateway from Paddington towards Swindon, Bristol, Bath, South Wales, Cheltenham and other parts of the West Country.

Diversions are in place but Great Western Rail is cancelling some services outright because trains can’t get through Reading-Didcot.

A total of 72 services to and from Didcot are cancelled, while 39 have been axed at Oxford and 45 at Reading.

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One social media user posted a photo from Swindon showing trains to Paddington cancelled at 6am.

They wrote: “Apparently there’s been a gas leak around Didcot Parkway so they’ve cancelled most of the services, and no replacement bus services running either.

“The staff at Swindon reckon this will last all day and probably tomorrow.”

Another person responded: “Absolutely ridiculous… not good enough.”

GWR is running roughly one train an hour Paddington-Bath/Bristol via a diversionary route – a fraction of the normal capacity.

It has warned only to travel if absolutely necessary.

Replacement buses are running between Swindon, Didcot and Reading but Network Rail says capacity won’t be enough for everyone.

CrossCountry is also telling passengers not to travel between Reading and Oxford – with one person responding to the company’s X post with: “Thanks for ruining my whole day.”

Network Rail said: “Engineers from gas distribution company SGN are on site working to rectify the problem as quickly and safely as possible.

“Network Rail and train operators are working together to manage the impact on passengers, but normal services cannot operate until the leak has been repaired because the railway falls within the safety exclusion zone.

“Severe disruption is expected to long-distance services that would usually travel through Didcot, and passengers are being warned that trains able to run either side of the affected area will be extremely busy.

“GWR will continue to operate as many trains as possible either side of the incident.”

GWR expects to be able to operate services between:

• Reading and London Paddington
• Swindon and Cheltenham Spa
• Swindon and Chippenham/Bath/Bristol
• South Wales to Bristol Temple Meads
• Worcester and Oxford
• An hourly service between London Paddington and Bath/Bristol via an alternative, diversionary route
• Oxford and Didcot
• An hourly service Bristol Temple Meads and Didcot
• Usual timetabled services that do not run between Reading and Didcot
• A limited bus replacement service will operate between Swindon, Didcot and Reading

ONE of the UK’s biggest cities will see trains cancelled for nearly a week during the busy Christmas period.

No trains will be running at Birmingham New Street from December 24 to 28 while the station undergoes a £13million upgrade.

Services will then resume on Tuesday, December 29.

Upgrades include work on the overhead power lines, which keep the trains moving.

The Christmas closure will mark the first phase of the overall three-year project to upgrade the station, with future phases taking place over Christmas 2027 and 2028.

Network Rail has said that it is working to minimise the impact but has warned travellers that journeys will take longer.

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During the engineering work, the station building will stay open, which means travellers can still head to the shops.

There will also be staff on hand to help out with queries.

Martin Colmey, route director for Network Rail Central route, said: “Birmingham New Street is at the heart of the rail network, supporting millions of local, regional and national journeys every year.

“Much of the overhead line equipment dates back to the 1960s and needs to be replaced. This £13m investment has been carefully planned to make the railway more reliable.

“There is never a good time for this type of work and we have done all we can to reduce its impact as much as possible.

“Christmas is a quieter time, but we know it will affect journeys at an important time of the year.

“We want to make people aware as early as possible so they can plan ahead.

“As soon as tickets are available to buy for Christmas travel, there will be clear, detailed information to help passengers plan their journeys and make informed decisions.”