Rail passengers travelling between Reading and London faced continuing disruption on Tuesday afternoon after a points failure on the approach to London Paddington left services delayed and revised.
What has happened
National Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) reported a signalling-related problem in the Paddington area which reduced the number of trains able to use the route. As a result, local stopping services were reworked and some stations were not being served by GWR services.
"Owing to a problem with a section of track near London Paddington, fewer trains are able to operate between London Paddington and Reading."
GWR warned that, during the disruption, Maidenhead, Slough and Twyford would not be served by its services and advised passengers to use Elizabeth line trains instead; GWR said its tickets would be accepted on Elizabeth line services at no extra cost.
Delays, revised services and advice for passengers
By 15:38 the operator said disruption was expected to continue into the late afternoon. There were conflicting published end times: a GWR travel update indicated disruption was expected until 16:15, while a later National Rail message suggested passengers should expect problems until 18:00. In the meantime, passengers were advised to check National Rail’s website for the latest information before travelling.
- Elizabeth line services between London and Reading were described as having severe delays, including services to Heathrow terminals 4 and 5.
- Great Western Railway services were being revised; local stopping services between Didcot Parkway and Paddington were instead running only as far as Reading in both directions.
- Maidenhead, Slough and Twyford were not being served by GWR trains during the disruption.
GWR’s online statement made clear the problem was with a section of track near Paddington and that the points failure meant fewer trains could operate on the line while engineers worked to resolve the fault.
| Station | GWR service status | Alternative suggested |
|---|---|---|
| Maidenhead | Not served by GWR | Use Elizabeth line (GWR ticket accepted) |
| Slough | Not served by GWR | Use Elizabeth line (GWR ticket accepted) |
| Twyford | Not served by GWR | Use Elizabeth line (GWR ticket accepted) |
| Reading London Paddington | Reduced services; delays and revisions | Check National Rail and operator updates |
Local impact and commuter-belt consequences
The line between Reading and London is a major artery for commuters in the Thames Valley and west London fringe. Even a short-lived points failure close to Paddington can ripple across timetables, creating knock-on delays for long-distance and local services alike. Many Reading residents depend on a reliable hourly pattern for work, education and business travel; suspension of calls at key interchange stations such as Maidenhead and Slough forces passengers to reroute, adding time and uncertainty to journeys.
Rail operators normally make temporary arrangements such as accepting tickets on alternative services, but those measures do not always spare passengers longer waits, overcrowding on replacement routes, or difficulty completing journeys where onward connections are timetabled tightly.
Commuters travelling this afternoon were urged to allow extra time, to recheck journeys using National Rail Enquiries, and to consider postponing non-essential travel until services had been restored to normal.
As engineers worked to correct the points failure, rail operators continued to publish updates on social media and their websites. Passengers seeking the latest position were advised to monitor live departure boards at stations and check operator websites for revised timetables and platform information.
Further updates from GWR and National Rail are expected as the situation develops; until then, passengers should assume disruption may persist through the late afternoon and plan accordingly.
