Latest Rail News

11.02.14

Thames Valley services face flood disruption

The flooding misery that has caused chaos to rail services in the south west and other parts of England in recent weeks has now spread to the Thames Valley, with operator First Great Western urging people not to travel unless “absolutely necessary”.

First Great Western said: “Network Rail has informed us that signal and safety equipment in the Maidenhead area has been affected by flooding.

“This means we are only able to run trains on two of the four tracks into and out of Paddington.

“Services are severely affected and customers should only travel into and out of London if absolutely necessary, or consider alternative routes into/out of the capital. Some services are still running but at a significantly reduced frequency, and customers should expect delays and cancellations to services.

“We strongly advise customers to only travel if absolutely necessary in the affected areas, or consider alternative routes.”

There is ‘major disruption’ on these services across the south west and in the Thames Valley:

  • Paddington-Oxford/Worcester/Hereford
  • Paddington-Bristol/Cheltenham/South Wales
  • Paddington-Devon and Cornwall
  • All services in Devon and Cornwall
  • Cardiff/Bristol Area services
  • Reading and London area branch line services
  • Paddington-Reading (Fast Trains)

There is also some disruption to Reading-Gatwick services.

Prime minister David Cameron has been in Dawlish this morning, seeing the extent of the rail devastation wrought by the storms and floods. Asked about rebuilding the coastal line versus exploring alternative inland options, he said: “It's an iconic piece of Briatin's infrastructure. It's an incredibly beautiful stretch. It has its challenges but we are bringing all our resources to bear to make sure it can be up and running, and work for the entire peninsula.”

He tweeted yesterday: “We will look at possible alternatives to the Dawlish rail route.”

(Image shows a person walking across the railway line following flooding in Datchet, Berkshire. Will Oliver/PA Wire)

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