Great Western Railway have advised the Town Council of the following disruption to rail services:

Newquay to Par Line Closure: 18 November to 1 December

The line between Newquay and Par will be closed from Monday 18 November to Sunday 1 December

This work, as part of the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme, will allow GWR to lay new track so trains can reach the new platform that GWR have restored at Newquay station, enabling the introduction of an hourly service from Newquay as part of Mid-Cornwall Metro.

During this time, buses will replace trains and run from St Austell to Newquay. Most replacement buses will not call at Par. Online journey planners have been updated, and GWR will also be making customers aware through at station and on board announcements, station posters, and traditional and social media. Full information on the works is available at www.gwr.com/upgrade.

Some car park spaces at Newquay station will remain unavailable until Friday 20 December to create an area for Network Rail’s site compound.

Old Oak Common HS2 Station Work – London Paddington Station Closed Sunday 17 November

London Paddington will be closed to all rail services, GWR, Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express on Sunday 17 November.  A reduced rail service will be in operation, with a limited hourly service into London Euston for some long distance customers.

Customers will be able to use Elizabeth line services from Reading to Ealing Broadway to connect with the Central line.

Services will be very busy, and long distance services from Devon and Cornwall, and South Wales into Euston (which will not call at Reading) are reservation only and must be booked in advance.

The revised timetable is in journey planners, posters are on display at stations, GWR will have on board and station announcements, and they have had both social and traditional media coverage. There is also a reduced service between Reading and London Paddington on Saturday 16 November as only two out of four tracks between these stations will be available for use.

Due to crew availability on Sundays GWR are also alerting customers to the potential for further timetable changes.  They advise that they are doing their best to cover all the planned services, but are reliant on voluntary overtime.

GWR are therefore allowing customers to use tickets for Sunday 17 November on Saturday 16 or Monday 18 November if they prefer.  They will also update the timetable with any further changes or cancellations early on Sunday 17, so that customers can check their journey before heading out to the station.

Full details are on the dedicated GWR webpage www.gwr.com/upgrade