North Cotswold line delays and cancellations - 2026

[whole diary]

[Witham Bobby]

21/07/2026

More news from the crumbling edge of quality otherwise known as the London to Worcester and Hereford route

According to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website):

1P26 1316 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington was cancelled between Worcester Shrub Hill and Moreton-in-Marsh due to the planned train being replaced with a slower train

The down working, 1W21 1053 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill is in trouble, at present 36 minutes late off Charlbury

[Witham Bobby]

Monday 27th July 2026

According to RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website)

1W21 1053 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill was cancelled after Oxford "due to an unknown cause".

The service had departed Paddington 9 minutes late, remained at around that much delayed until Reading, from where it departed 27 minutes down, and expired at Oxford also 27 minutes late.

The return working, 1P26 1316 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington, did not run between Worcester and Oxford, also because of "an unknown cause"

[Richard Fairhurst]

It would be churlish not to mention that today is the day of the year when Charlbury gets its best ever service, with extra departures to Paddington at 0938, 1036, 1137, and 1237 (Reading) making for a half-hourly service between 0711 and 1312. The extras don't even stop at Hanborough!

(GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) puts them on to help deal with overcrowding on the way back from the Wilderness Festival at Cornbury Park.)

[Witham Bobby]

Tuesday 4th August

08:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 10:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

Last Updated:04/08/2026 04:14

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) shows 1G01 0632 Swindon to Worcester Shrub Hill as being cancelled "due to the planned train being replaced with a slower train (MS)."

[charles_uk]

13:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington due 15:22 will be terminated at Oxford.
It will no longer call at Didcot Parkway, Reading and London Paddington.
It is being delayed at Evesham.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

13:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:25 will be diverted between Worcester Shrub Hill and Didcot Parkway.
It will no longer call at Worcestershire Parkway Hl, Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-In-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough and Oxford.
This is due to a passenger being taken ill on a train.

14:53 London Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street due 17:04 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

and not mentioned but the truncated 13:16 service was a two car Turbo^▸ (Class 165 and 166 trains used on Thames Valley services).

(added the following morning)

Also needing to be mentioned, the return working of the 14:53, the 17:26 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington service was also cancelled. The 17:04 Didcot Parkway to Evesham halts train was terminated at Oxford and the return 18:51 Evesham to Oxford cancelled completely.

[charles_uk]

Friday 7 August:

1P06 0516 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington – lost 63 minutes between Honeybourne & Moreton-in-Marsh
1P10 0523 Hereford to London Paddington – diverted via Swindon
1W11 0553 London Paddington to Great Malvern - cancelled between Oxford and Great Malvern due to unknown cause (ZW)
1P12 0643 Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington – departed WOS^▸ (Worcester Shrub Hill stationnext trains) 37 minutes late
2E80 0700 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway – cancelled due to late arrival of an inbound service (YI)
1P14 0713 Great Malvern to London Paddington - cancelled between Reading and London Paddington due to the train operator's request (TB). Departed GMV^▸ (Great Malvern station) 99 minutes late
1P18 0856 Great Malvern to London Paddington - cancelled between Great Malvern and Oxford due to unknown cause (ZW)

[bobm]

Believe the first train hit a fallen tree.

[ChrisB]

At Kingham

[ChrisB]

From Oxford Mail

An update has been issued after passengers faced delays and disruption after a train struck a fallen tree early this morning.

The incident happened near Kingham in the Cotswolds, blocking the Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) route between Oxford and Worcester Shrub Hill.

GWR said the tree had fallen onto the track and was hit by a train during the Friday morning rush hour, forcing services to run at reduced speed and causing delays of up to 30 minutes.

A GWR spokesperson said: "We are sorry to customers whose journeys were disrupted this morning after a train struck a fallen tree near Kingham, resulting in the temporary closure of the railway while the situation was assessed and made safe.

"Working with Network Rail, we were able to reopen the line as quickly as possible, and services have now returned to normal.[/quote]