Dolphin Junction Renewal to Affect London Paddington Services After Christmas

Rail services across the west of England will run largely as normal this Christmas, though passengers are being advised to plan ahead and book tickets in advance where possible. While some engineering work is scheduled over the festive period, the scale of disruption is smaller than in previous years, taking advantage of lower passenger numbers between Christmas and New Year.

The most significant work is the renewal of points at Dolphin Junction near Slough, a key intersection handling 10–14 trains per hour and around 40 million tonnes of traffic annually. Between Saturday 27 December and Sunday 4 January, only two of the four tracks will be available, requiring an amended timetable for trains to and from London Paddington. Direct services between London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa will not run, with passengers advised to change at Swindon or Bristol Parkway.

No services will operate on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, as is usual across the network. In addition, Network Rail will continue construction work for HS2’s Old Oak Common station in west London, focusing on installing the overhead electrification equipment needed to power trains.

Marcus Jones, Network Rail’s Western route managing director, said:

“Far fewer people travel by rail between Christmas and New Year compared to a normal working week, which gives us a valuable opportunity to deliver major upgrades for passengers whilst causing as little disruption as possible. Trains will continue to run across the vast majority of the Western route over the festive period but some services will be affected by our engineering work, so please make sure to plan ahead through National Rail Enquiries or with your train operator.”

GWR’s Richard Rowland added:

“We’re working hard to keep everyone moving this Christmas and to help get you where you need to be. Please be aware though that services will be really busy immediately before Christmas, and we also have some engineering work taking place immediately after – so book ahead for the best value, and plan your journey accordingly.”

Image: Network Rail