Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsewhere - 2026

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Following a fire next to the track between London Paddington and Reading all lines will be reopened shortly. Disruption is expected until 11:30 01/03.

Train services between London Paddington and Reading will be cancelled or delayed.

[bobm]

Bit more detail on Journeycheck.

The fire brigade have been responding to a fire at a train depot near London Paddington.

To allow the fire brigade to deal with the incident, power to the overhead electric wires which powers electric trains was switched off.

As a result, major disruption has occurred on this route this morning.

However, the fire has now been safely extinguished, and we are slowly starting to reintroduce the train service. However, delays and short notice cancellations should be expected as continue to restore the train service.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between London Paddington and Reading

Due to a fault on a train at Hayes & Harlington trains have to run at reduced speed on some lines. Disruption is expected until 09:00 13/03.

Train services between London Paddington and Reading may be cancelled or delayed.

Customer Advice
A safety inspection of the track in the Hayes & Harlington area is causing congestion to trains in and out of London Paddington. In order to reduce delays, some train services have been taken out of the timetable this morning; specifically:

Semi fast services between London Paddington and Reading, that would call at Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford, will not run. Customers can however use their tickets on the Elizabeth Line.

[TaplowGreen]

From National Rail;

Description

Lines have reopened following an earlier fault with the signalling system at Slough. Trains between London Paddington and Reading are returning to normal but may still be delayed by up to 25 minutes.

Disruption is expected until 12:00.

[TaplowGreen]

Alterations to services between Newbury and Reading

Due to a fault with the signalling system between Newbury and Reading the line towards Reading is disrupted.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed or diverted between Westbury and Reading.

Disruption is expected until 18:15 26/03.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Reading and London Paddington

Due to trespassers on the railway between Reading and London Paddington trains have to run at reduced speed on all lines.

Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled or delayed. Disruption is expected until 17:45 28/03.

[TaplowGreen]

Also impacting services further afield.......

Cancellations to services between Didcot Parkway and Reading

Due to engineering works not being finished on time at Didcot Parkway some lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 09:45 29/03.

Train services between Didcot Parkway and Reading may be cancelled or delayed.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Reading and Newbury

Due to a points failure between Reading and Westbury all lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 12:15 30/03.

Train services between Reading and Newbury may be cancelled or diverted.

[TaplowGreen]

Delays to services between Hungerford and Newbury

Due to a speed restriction over defective track between Hungerford and Newbury trains have to run at reduced speed on the line towards Newbury.

Train services running through these stations may be delayed by up to 10 minutes. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services at Oxford

Due to a fault with the signalling system at Oxford some lines are blocked.

Train services running through this station may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or diverted. Disruption is expected until 20:45 31/03.

[NickB]

Not infrastructure per se, unless you count trackside fencing, but…

Extensive disruption this afternoon at paddington with all lines blocked due to a trespasser at Southall. 

To my recollection this is the 3rd such incident in the past fortnight.  Does the great western line have a track security problem?

[TaplowGreen]

Not infrastructure per se, unless you count trackside fencing, but…

Extensive disruption this afternoon at paddington with all lines blocked due to a trespasser at Southall. 

To my recollection this is the 3rd such incident in the past fortnight.  Does the great western line have a track security problem?

Lines open again now but still extensive delays until 1800 according to National Rail on one of the busiest days of the year - also affecting local Elizabeth Line services.

This sort of moronic behaviour does indeed seem to be on the rise and not just in this area - saw some footage of a couple of people practically tap dancing on the third rail last week, narrowly avoided being turned into charcoal.

[JohnM]

It meant the 1630 Bristol-Paddington was cancelled, then the 1700 was only 5 coaches instead of 9 - possibly twice as many people on a train half the size (plus additional holiday traffic?). I should have been on it, but decided to leave early and return to Melksham via Trowbridge, which was fine despite a scheduled 5 min change.

[IndustryInsider]

Not infrastructure per se, unless you count trackside fencing, but…

Extensive disruption this afternoon at paddington with all lines blocked due to a trespasser at Southall. 

To my recollection this is the 3rd such incident in the past fortnight.  Does the great western line have a track security problem?

Lines open again now but still extensive delays until 1800 according to National Rail on one of the busiest days of the year - also affecting local Elizabeth Line services.

This sort of moronic behaviour does indeed seem to be on the rise and not just in this area - saw some footage of a couple of people practically tap dancing on the third rail last week, narrowly avoided being turned into charcoal.

Seems to have been an attempted suicide which when a driver saw the person with their head on the track, stopped their train and initiated a Railway Emergency Call to stop all other trains in the vicinity.

So the suicide was prevented…but then of course it became a trespass incident.

Mind you, general moronic behaviour as a whole is on the increase, yes.

[Bob_Blakey]

.....Does the great western line have a track security problem?

The volume of graffiti, AKA^▸ ('also known as') criminal damage, along the railway between Paddington & Acton, indicates the answer to that question is a resounding 'Yes'.