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www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/christmas2014
Welcome
Welcome to the First Great Western guide to
travelling over the Christmas and New Year period.
We will once again be working with Network Rail
to progress some of the key improvement projects
that are Building a Greater West for the customers
and communities that we serve, and this will mean
some changes to our usual services.
This leaflet contains information to help make
your festive travel experience with us as safe
and comfortable as possible.
Why will my journey be
disrupted this Christmas
and New Year?
The Great Western Main Line is benefitting from a £7.5bn
investment to modernise and create a railway better able to
meet our customers’ future requirements.
Part of this modernisation involves increasing capacity – either
by redeveloping key railway routes and associated stations, or
by ensuring the railway is capable of running trains that can carry
more passengers.
We support Network Rail who are responsible for delivering
some of these major improvement schemes. They carry out rail
improvement works during less busy holiday periods such as
Christmas and New Year. Our focus is on keeping disruptions
to our customers to a minimum.
The majority of the work will be focused in the London Paddington
to Reading area, and there will be a moving worksite restricting
the number of services that can serve this route throughout the
festive period.
1
Summary of work
taking place
Reading Viaduct complete and made ready to enter passenger
service
You may have previously experienced delays entering or leaving
Reading station. This has been caused by the bottleneck that this
part of the railway creates on the Great Western Main Line.
Completing the construction of the viaduct is a vital step on the way
to minimising delays to your journeys. It means that our High Speed
trains (HSTs) travelling between London Paddington and Bristol,
Cardiff, Swansea and Oxford will be carried over freight trains bound
for Southampton, avoiding conflict and delays.
This benefit will come into effect on Sunday 4 January 2015.
The penultimate phase of work at Reading during Easter 2015 will
see the removal of conflicts between freight trains and mainline
First Great Western services when a further part of the viaduct is
opened. Ultimately, all customers travelling through Reading will see
a major difference in journey times (from Summer 2015) when further
track is installed and localised speed restrictions are removed.
2
Track remodelling around Reading to allow trains better
access to platforms
The junction to the immediate west end of Reading, that takes the
Newbury/Westbury and Basingstoke lines to Reading West, will be
completely re-modelled. Existing track will be removed and brand
new track laid in its place. In addition, the track leading to the east
of the viaduct will be connected up to enable direct access into and
out of platforms 9 and 10.
This limits the number of platforms that will be available for trains at
Reading station this Christmas, which is why rail replacement bus
services will be in use and some services need to be diverted.
Preparatory works for Crossrail services and electric trains
through Maidenhead, Langley, Burnham and West Drayton
Work will take place to upgrade station buildings, platform
canopies and platforms. Some will lengthened, realigned, improved
or otherwise prepared for the new electric trains that will serve the
stations from 2017, and the Crossrail services from 2019. This will
mean faster, more comfortable and more environmentally-friendly
journeys for customers in future.
For Christmas and the New Year, it will mean that our trains are
unable to serve these stations on certain days, and we need to run
rail replacement bus services instead.
3
Major progress on a vital Crossrail structure at Stockley
Another major engineering structure that has taken shape
over the last few months is a new viaduct just to the west of
Hayes & Harlington station. The Stockley viaduct will carry
Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express trains to and from
Heathrow Airport, and is phase 1 of a series of developments
that will reduce conflict with First Great Western stopping trains,
and freight trains, using the local lines.
In order to connect this new link with the existing lines, Crossrail
engineers will work over Christmas to adjust the track and install
new points and signals.
This will mean that we will only be able to run a limited service of fast
trains from London Paddington to the West of England on
Saturday 27 December and it will not be possible to run trains into
London Paddington from the Reading direction until around 1100.
Acton and Old Oak Common
A new dive under is being built between Ealing Broadway and
the busy freight yard at Acton that handles numerous aggregate
trains serving London and the Home Counties. This will allow local
First Great Western services and Heathrow Connect services to
pass underneath freight trains leaving the yard and thus reduce
conflict and delays.
At Old Oak Common some new track work and signals will be
introduced at Christmas to accommodate resting trains.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by these planned
changes to usual journeys, particularly at this time of year, but
we are excited about some of the long-term social and economic
benefits that this major investment in the railway will bring about for
our customers.
4
Our Christmas service plan
Trains will be busy – book in advance!
Although Christmas is a time when we generally see fewer
customers than normal, there are some times when trains are far
busier than usual. To ensure your journey with us is as safe and as
comfortable as possible, we recommend that you make your travel
plans in advance, and reserve your seats wherever possible to do
so.
Christmas Eve, Saturday 27 December, New Year’s Eve and Sunday
4 January are likely to be the busiest days for travel.
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Christmas Eve, Wednesday 24 December
Evening services will be amended and some services will not run.
If you are travelling after lunchtime we strongly advise you to check
your train times in advance.
Last trains from selected stations include:
London Paddington to:
Bath Spa / Bristol Temple Meads
Cardiff Central / Swansea
Gloucester direct
Gloucester (change at Swindon)
Cheltenham Spa direct
Cheltenham Spa (change at Swindon)
Newbury direct
Newbury (change at Reading)
Oxford
Intermediate stations to Oxford
Intermediate stations to Oxford (change at Reading)
Penzance
Plymouth
Reading
Taunton / Exeter St Davids
5
2123
2008
1536
1923
1536
1923
1938
1953
2111
2052
2111
1756
1938
2127
1938
Reading to:
London Paddington
2055
Intermediate stations to London Paddington
2033
Basingstoke2107
Bath Spa / Bristol Temple Meads
2200
Gatwick Airport
1934
Newbury2041
Oxford2159
Oxford to:
London Paddington
2031
Reading2132
Worcester Shrub Hill
2020
Bristol Temple Meads to:
Bath Spa
2123
Cardiff Central
2054
Exeter St Davids (CrossCountry service)
1945
Gloucester2041
Cheltenham Spa
1941
Westbury2123
Weston-super-Mare2055
Please note that Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services
will finish at 1630.
Christmas Day, Thursday 25 December 2014
No First Great Western train services will operate.
Boxing Day, Friday 26 December 2014
No First Great Western train services will operate
A bus service will operate between Reading and Gatwick Airport via
Heathrow Airport. Please visit www.railair.com for details
Saturday 27 December 2014 – 0700 until 1100
(Thames Valley Area)
• No services from west of Slough will call into London Paddington
before 1100
• First Great Western will run two services per hour from
London Paddington
• A London Paddington to Hayes & Harlington shuttle will run every
half an hour from 0742 until 1012
• Buses will replace trains between Hayes & Harlington and Slough
• No Heathrow Express / Heathrow Connect services will run until 1100
• A Slough to Oxford shuttle train will run until 1100
• Customers for London may use South West Trains services from
Reading to London Waterloo until 1030
6
Saturday 27 December after 1100 to
Tuesday 30 December 2014
• The main lines are open but the relief (local) lines from Southall to
Slough will be closed
• A half-hourly stopping service will operate between
London Paddington and Reading. (from 1042 on 27 December)
• Buses will replace trains between Swindon and Pewsey
• Two Heathrow Express services will run per hour
• Two Heathrow Connect services will run per hour
• Services between Reading and Basingstoke will be amended,
with buses replacing trains between Reading and Reading West
• Only platforms 13, 14 and 15 at Reading will be available for
through services on 27 and 28 December
• Only platforms 12, 13, 14 and 15 at Reading will be available for
through services on 29 December
• Services to the West of England will be diverted and this will
increase journey times by up to 30 minutes. Departures from
London Paddington will be up to 40 minutes earlier than normal,
and these diversions will impact on trains between Swindon
and Westbury
• Buses replace most trains between Reading and Reading West
on Saturday 27, Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 December
• Most services between Reading and Bedwyn will be amended
Wednesday 31 December 2014 to Friday 2 January 2015
• The relief lines will be blocked between Slough and Twyford
• Buses will replace trains between Swindon and Pewsey
• Only platforms 12, 13, 14 and 15 will be available at Reading
between 30 December and 3 January
• Four Heathrow Express services will run per hour
• Two Heathrow Connect services will run per hour
• Buses will replace trains between Maidenhead to Marlow from
31 December to 2 January
• Buses run between Slough and Maidenhead as trains are unable
to call at Burnham and Taplow from 31 December to 2 January
• Services to the West of England will be diverted and this
will increase journey times by up to 30 minutes. Departures
from London Paddington will be up to 40 minutes earlier than
normal, and these diversions will impact on trains between
Swindon and Westbury
• Services between Reading and Basingstoke will be amended,
with buses replacing trains between Reading and Reading West
• Most services between Reading and Bedwyn will be amended
7
Saturday 3 January and Sunday 4 January 2015
• Work will be taking place at various locations between
London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington
• Works will take place in the Bristol area resulting in buses
replacing trains between Bristol Temple Meads and
Weston-super-Mare
• Buses replace trains at Pangbourne on Sunday 4 January
• Some services will be diverted via Westbury, affecting Swindon
to Westbury services
• Buses replace trains between Reading and Reading West on
Saturday 3 January
• Buses will replace trains between Didcot Parkway and Oxford
on Sunday 4 January
• Buses will replace trains between Reading and Guildford until
1225 on Sunday 4 January
• Services between Reading and Basingstoke will be amended,
with buses replacing trains for all or part of the journey, on
Saturday 3 January
• Most services between Reading and Bedwyn will be amended
on Saturday 3 January
Detailed information
Detailed train times information for travel over
the Christmas period is available in a number
of different ways:
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Online at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk and use the
journey planner
On our dedicated Christmas pages at
www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/christmas2014
The First Great Western app for smart phones
Our app shows train times and fares. You can plan journeys
whilst on the move, and you can buy tickets too.
Visit your app store and search for ‘FGW’ or text ‘FGW’ to
86688 to download
Call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 (24 hours, calls
may be recorded)
Visit your nearest staffed station where our colleagues will be
happy to help you
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8
The ongoing investment in the future of our railway continues into
2015 and beyond. We will work with Network Rail to further the
Reading redevelopment project over Easter 2015, at the same time
as they undertake extensive work to prepare the railway between
Hayes & Harlington and Didcot Parkway for electric trains and
Crossrail services. This will result in all lines being blocked. Look out
for full details in the New Year.
The Night Riviera
The Night Riviera sleeper service
This service will operate on the night of Tuesday 23 December
2014 (arriving Penzance / London Paddington on the morning of
Wednesday 24 December).
The service will be suspended over the Christmas and New Year
period and will resume on the night of Thursday 1 January 2015
(arriving Penzance / London Paddington on the morning of
Friday 2 January 2015).
9
Fares information
Time restrictions will be lifted on First Great Western services from
27 December 2014 to 4 January 2015 inclusive. Restrictions for
travel with other train operators may remain in place. Please enquire
with that operator for details.
Arrangements have been made to ensure that you can use
alternative routes or service providers when rail improvement works
are taking place. Please visit our website or ask a member of staff
for details.
Weekend First
will be available on First Great Western services from
Saturday 27 December 2014 until Sunday 4 January 2015 inclusive.
Note that this can only be purchased on the train, and is subject to
availability.
London Travelcards
will be subject to the usual peak-time restrictions on London
Underground, Docklands Light Railway and London buses
throughout the Christmas and New Year period. Please enquire
with Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk) for details.
For more information on First Great Western, and other train
operators’ fares, please visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or call
National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950 (24 Hours, calls may
be recorded)
Food and drink on board
Pullman fine dining will not be available on High Speed Services
from 22 December 2014 until 2 January 2015 inclusive.
High speed trains on these routes will convey an Express Café
as usual, offering a wide range of drinks and hot and cold snacks.
We will be providing an at-seat service on some services in
First Class throughout the holiday period.
For more detailed information about the food and drink available
on individual services, please refer to station monitors prior to
boarding your train.
10
Luggage
Our High Speed Trains have luggage racks at the end of each
carriage, and there is room for smaller bags on the overhead racks
throughout the length of these trains.
The remainder of our train fleet has a little less room, so we would
be most grateful for your assistance in stowing luggage safely,
sensibly and considerately.
If your journey involves a rail replacement bus please note that large
items of luggage, cycles and animals cannot be accommodated.
For more detailed information on the conveyance of accompanied
luggage, articles and animals please refer to the National Rail
Conditions of Carriage, available online at www.nationalrail.co.uk
First Great Western has teamed up with Carry My Luggage, an
independent ‘door to door’ luggage delivery service which operates
throughout the UK, as well as to international destinations.
Carry My Luggage removes the hassle normally associated with
luggage by collecting your items before you travel and delivering
them safely and swiftly to your destination. You can book to have
your luggage delivered by calling 0845 009 0362 or visit
www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/carrymyluggage
Customer assistance
Assisted travel is available for those who need
extra help with their journey. Please contact us
on Freefone 0800 197 1329 or Textphone
18001 0800 197 1329 where our specialist
team will be available to offer you advice.
We recommend that you give us at least
24 hours’ notice before travelling.
11
Safety Information
General Safety Advice
During winter weather, please help make your
journey more comfortable with these travel tips.
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Wear adequate clothing; remember many platforms are exposed
Beware of slippery underfoot conditions. Wear adequate
footwear (good grip on soles)
Please do not run, as this may result in injuries to yourself and/or
others who you may collide with
Take extra care when using stairs and when boarding/alighting
trains; hold onto the handrail provided
Make use of heated waiting room facilities at stations (where
available) or sheltered areas away from the icy wind, especially for
longer waiting periods
Hot drinks can help your body to regain lost warmth. Most
stations and trains have facilities that sell these items
Please help maintain warmth by closing doors and windows on
trains and at stations (waiting rooms, ticket offices, etc)
Please help us maintain your comfort and safety by reporting
defective heating and lighting, slippery/icy and other unsafe
underfoot conditions
Please speak to a member of station/on-train staff or contact our
Customer Services Team on 08457 000 125 (daily 0700 to 2200) or
e-mail [email protected]
Alcohol Consumption
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Excess consumption of alcohol can lead to people falling asleep
or becoming unconscious, which may lead to sustaining frostbite
injuries
People are more likely to slip/trip/fall when under the influence of
alcohol, which can result in serious personal injury
Alcohol consumption can also lead to getting off the train at the
wrong stop or being over carried due to falling asleep on the train
Please be aware that we have the right to refuse you permission
to travel on our trains, if you are drunk and disorderly
Abuse against our staff
•
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First Great Western will not tolerate any instance of verbal abuse,
threatening behaviour or physical assault against our staff
Working in conjunction with the British Transport Police,
appropriate action will be taken against offenders
12
Other useful websites
www.nationalrail.co.uk for up-to-date train times
and details of other train companies’ services over
the festive period
www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk CrossCountry
operate train services from Scotland, the North
of England, through Birmingham New Street
to Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids
and the West Country as well as to Reading
and Bournemouth
www.southwesttrains.co.uk South West Trains operate
train services in Southern England and from London Waterloo
to Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter St Davids
www.transport-direct.org.uk for updates on road and rail
travel in Britain
www.railair.com for details of buses operating between
Reading station and Heathrow Airport
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year
from all at
First Great Western
For more information
First Great Western Customer Services
www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk
03457 000 125 (0700 to 2200 daily)
First Great Western Customer Assistance
Freephone 0800 197 1329
Textphone 18001 197 1329
CrossCountry trains
www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
08447 369 123
Network Rail
www.networkrail.co.uk
0845 711 4141 (24 hours)
National Rail Enquiries
www.nationalrail.co.uk
08457 48 49 50 (24 hours, calls may be recorded)
Passenger Focus
www.passengerfocus.org.uk
0300 123 2350
465015/00