ANYONE planning a trip across the border this weekend is urged to check their travel plans as two major train stations will be closed.

London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads stations will be affected by the work across the weekend. Both stations are regularly served by Welsh stations including Cardiff Central and Newport.

London Paddington will be closed to all trains on Sunday, September 26, for the morning, reopening around midday. This is for Network Rail to carry out essential signalling upgrades.

Work on the upgraded railway junction on the approach to Bristol Temple Meads will be finished on the weekend – affecting trains on both Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26.

It will remove the temporary speed restrictions currently in place on the Bristol East Junction and effecting services between Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway or Bath Spa.

Great Western Railway – who run the services to these stations – advise customers to plan ahead and check journey times before travelling.

Here is how the journeys may affect you:

London Paddington

  • No trains will be running to or from London Paddington on the morning of Sunday, September 26. All long distance services from across the GWR network will start and end at Reading.
  • Customers arriving at Reading for London Paddington are advised to use the South Western Railway services to London Waterloo.
  • Services from Didcot Parkway will start and end at Slough. Passengers should change here for replacement buses to Boston Manor (Piccadilly Line) or Ealing Broadway (District Line).
  • Buses will replace trains on sections of routes between London Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside, as well as between London Marylebone and Oxford.

Bristol Temple Meads

  • Buses replace train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Filton Abbey Wood or Bristol Parkway on Saturday 25 September.
  • Buses then replace train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Keynsham, Oldfield Park or Bath Spa on Sunday 26 September.

Great Western Railway managing director, Mark Hopwood, said: “We work very closely with Network Rail to make sure essential track and signalling improvements can take place when fewer people are travelling and with minimum disruption to customers.

“We will continue to keep people moving during these works, but journeys may take longer, and trains could be busier than usual. I’m grateful for customers’ patience while the work is completed and would encourage those who do need to travel to check beforehand.”

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Scott Pillinger, Network Rail programme manager, said: “We would like to thank passengers for their understanding while we complete these important signalling upgrades to prepare for the start of HS2.

“The HS2 route will connect directly into the Great Western network thanks to a brand-new station at Old Oak Common, making it easier and quicker to change trains that travelling through central London.”

Matt Barnes, Great Western Railway regional development manager, said: “We thank customers in advance for their patience and urge them to plan ahead as Network Rail delivers the final touches to its upgrade of the Bristol East junction.

“This work will in time help us to deliver 4,000 more train seats a day into the city, on more services through Bristol and help to reduce the conflict between long-distance and local stopping services, helping to maintain the reliability of our trains.”