Great Western trains cannot use Paddington from 27 December to 3 January, or on 28 and 29 November. Heathrow trains stop too. What still runs, day by day.

Great Western Railway trains will not run to or from Paddington for eight days after Christmas. The closure runs from Sunday 27 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, straight after the usual shutdown on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. A first closure covers the weekend of Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November.

Both are for an upgrade of Dolphin Junction, between Slough and Langley. National Rail published the travel arrangements for both closures on its Christmas pages. Heathrow trains from Paddington stop too, so for several days the Piccadilly line is the only rail link from central London to the airport.

The quick answer

  • 28 and 29 November: no GWR trains at Paddington, and no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains to Heathrow.
  • 27 December to 3 January: no GWR trains at Paddington. Bristol and South Wales trains run to Euston instead.
  • Heathrow: no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains to the airport from 26 to 30 December. They return on New Year’s Eve.
  • Chiltern trains from Marylebone keep running to High Wycombe, Oxford and Banbury on both dates.

Why the line is closing

Network Rail’s project page says it is spending £27.8m on the eastern side of Dolphin Junction. More than 400 passenger trains pass through it every day. The western side was rebuilt over Christmas 2025.

The work replaces the track layout with 88 pre-built track panels and moves the overhead power lines and two signals to suit. Network Rail says the new layout lets trains change between the main and relief lines at higher speed, so trains are no longer held waiting for others to clear the junction. It expects the job to be finished at the start of January 2027.

Weekend of 28 and 29 November

National Rail’s notice sets out what changes that weekend:

  • Heathrow: no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains to or from the airport. The Piccadilly line is the only train service between central London and Heathrow.
  • Bristol and South Wales: GWR trains cannot use Paddington. They are diverted between Swindon and London and run to and from Euston, with longer journey times.
  • Other long-distance GWR trains: most start and finish at Reading.
  • Reading to London: a special fast GWR service runs between Reading and Guildford, connecting with South Western Railway trains to Waterloo. National Rail warns the direct Reading and Windsor trains to Waterloo will be extremely busy because of international rugby at Twickenham.
  • Elizabeth line: trains run only between Maidenhead and Reading. There is no service between Maidenhead and Abbey Wood, or between Heathrow and Shenfield, all weekend.
  • Slough, Maidenhead and stations in between: take the Underground to Ealing Broadway, then replacement buses to Slough and on to Maidenhead.

On the wording of that notice, the Elizabeth line will not call at Paddington, Bond Street or Tottenham Court Road on either day.

Christmas: 25 December to 3 January

No National Rail trains run anywhere on Christmas Day. GWR and the Elizabeth line also run nothing on Saturday 26 December, according to their National Rail Christmas pages. Then the Dolphin Junction closure begins.

Dates What National Rail says
Fri 25 Dec No trains on any line
Sat 26 Dec No GWR, Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains
Sun 27 to Wed 30 Dec No GWR trains at Paddington. No Elizabeth line between Paddington and Reading. No Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express to Heathrow. Underground to Ealing Broadway, then buses to Slough
Thu 31 Dec to Sat 2 Jan No GWR trains at Paddington. Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express back to Heathrow. No Elizabeth line west of Hayes and Harlington; buses to Slough, then GWR to Reading
Sun 3 Jan No GWR trains at Paddington. No Elizabeth line west of Hayes and Harlington; buses to Maidenhead, then GWR to Reading

Through the whole closure, GWR trains to Bristol and South Wales are diverted to Euston. National Rail says passengers cannot use those diverted trains at Oxford, Didcot Parkway or Reading. Most other long-distance trains start and finish at Reading. South Western Railway runs trains between Waterloo and Reading, and National Rail warns they may be very busy on Monday 28 December because of rugby at Twickenham.

The Heathrow Express page confirms no trains from Saturday 26 to Wednesday 30 December, because the line between Paddington and Heathrow is closed.

Not everything is published yet. On 13 October, GWR’s own day-by-day page still said “information will be published when available” for every date from 27 December.

Marylebone is the alternative, mostly

Chiltern Railways keeps running from Marylebone to High Wycombe, Oxford and Banbury on both closure dates, and National Rail suggests changing at Oxford for Worcester or Reading. There is one gap. Chiltern’s Christmas page says no trains run between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway via Amersham on 27, 28 and 29 December. Buses replace them between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, and Chiltern tickets are valid on the Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Amersham.

What it means for you

  • Flying from Heathrow between 26 and 30 December: allow for the Piccadilly line, which is slower than the Elizabeth line. From Paddington, that means a change. Our Tube and train times page has journey times from each part of Westminster.
  • Going west for New Year: if you are heading to Bristol or Cardiff, expect to start from Euston rather than Paddington, and allow longer. For Oxford, Chiltern from Marylebone is the simpler route.
  • Heading to Reading: South Western Railway from Waterloo runs throughout, but National Rail expects it to be very busy on 28 December.
  • The 28 and 29 November weekend: it also takes out the Elizabeth line through the West End, so Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road need another route.
  • Check again in December. Operators are still adding detail. Our Christmas travel page has the rest of the holiday pattern, from the Congestion Charge pause to free parking days.

Sources