Thames Valley rail passengers warned about delays

Both Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway are expecting disruption to services on Sunday

Rail passengers are being warned to expect delays and cancellations on some services run by two train operators in the Thames Valley.

Rail replacement buses are operating on Chiltern Railways services between Bicester Village and Leamington Spa.

Meanwhile, Great Western Railway (GWR) is warning travellers that a shortage of train crew is likely to affect services between London Paddington and Bristol, Swindon and Gloucester.

GWR said cancellations may lead to one train every two hours on these lines, which all pass through Reading station.

The line between Bicester North and Leamington Spa will be closed all day on Sunday due to bridge works and tunnel works.

Replacement buses are operating between Bicester Village, Kings Sutton, Banbury, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Leamington Spa.

The works mean there are no through trains between London Marylebone and Birmingham, with no services operating from Bicester North station.

At the same time, scheduled engineering work in the Severn Tunnel means more train crew than normal are required to run services on GWR.

The operator said sickness, combined with England reaching the final of the Euros, was likely to reduce the number of staff available for overtime shifts.

A contingency plan is in place to protect core services and minimise disruption for customers, GWR said.

It added that short-notice cancellations and alterations were likely on long-distance services between:

• London Paddington and Bristol

• London Paddington, Swindon and Cheltenham/Gloucester

• Bristol Temple Meads and Exeter/Plymouth

On the impacted routes, where trains are able to run, they are expected to be very busy - with GWR suggesting customers avoid travelling on Sunday.

The operator said all valid tickets for Sunday could also be used on Monday when it is expecting to run a full service.