Newbury Christmas Trains: Paddington Shut 27 Dec to 3 Jan

If you are going from Newbury to London between Christmas and New Year, plan on changing at Reading. GWR says trains between Reading and Paddington will be affected from 27 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 while Network Rail rebuilds Dolphin Junction near Slough, following the usual shutdown on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. GWR’s own Christmas page and National Rail’s journey planner do not carry the detail yet.

The quick answer

• No trains on 25 or 26 December, then Reading to Paddington is affected from 27 December to 3 January, as GWR’s head of train planning described in September (IanVisits, 15 September 2026).
• The same work shuts Paddington on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, which is confirmed on National Rail. Newbury to Reading trains still run, to an amended timetable.
• Late-night buses replace trains on the Newbury line on several weeknights in October, November and December. The dates are below.

Christmas and New Year: what is known

Network Rail is replacing the eastern side of Dolphin Junction, between Slough and Langley, where fast and slow trains cross between tracks. The National Rail notice for the November weekend says it follows an upgrade of the western side of the junction during Christmas 2025.

GWR’s head of train planning, Matt Campbell, gave the Christmas dates on a test train in September. As reported by IanVisits, services between Reading and Paddington will be affected from 27 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. The plan then was:

• one South Wales and one Bristol or Exeter train an hour diverted into London Euston, via Oxford, Bicester and Milton Keynes
• most other trains that normally run into Paddington ending at Reading, where you change for South Western Railway trains to Waterloo
• extra GWR trains being looked at between Reading and Guildford, for SWR trains into Waterloo

That is a plan described to the press, not a published timetable. As of 24 September, GWR’s Christmas page still says details for Christmas 2025 “have yet to be finalised”. National Rail’s list of engineering works runs only to 19 December. Nothing on either site yet says exactly what the Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford stopping trains will do.

The November weekend is the rehearsal

For Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, National Rail has published the full plan (National Rail):

• no trains between Maidenhead or Heathrow and Paddington all weekend, on GWR, the Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express
• Newbury to Reading trains run to an amended timetable, and some call additionally at Newbury Racecourse, which matters because it is Coral Gold Cup day on the Saturday
• west of England trains end at Reading, and Bristol and South Wales trains divert to Euston with longer journey times
• a special fast GWR service runs each way between Reading and Guildford to connect with SWR trains to Waterloo; National Rail warns SWR trains from Reading to Waterloo are likely to be very busy because of a rugby event at Twickenham all weekend
• the Elizabeth line runs only a limited two trains an hour between Reading and Maidenhead

Expect the Christmas week to look much like this, over eight days instead of two.

Late-night buses on the Newbury line before Christmas

National Rail lists four sets of overnight works on the Reading to Bedwyn line between now and Christmas:

On Sunday 1 November early trains between Reading and Newbury are also changed, with the 08:06 Reading to Newbury replaced by a bus at 07:51 (National Rail). At Kintbury, replacement buses stop at the level crossing by Station Road, not the station forecourt.

For normal journey times and fares, see Newbury trains to London.

Buses over Christmas: last year’s pattern

Newbury & District, which runs jet black 1 to Reading, has not posted its 2026 arrangements. Its Christmas 2025 page set out the pattern:

Free bus Saturdays

Last December West Berkshire Council made every bus journey starting in the district free on Saturday 6, 13 and 20 December 2025, return included, with Reading Buses, Newbury & District, Thames Travel, Stagecoach and the council’s Connect buses. Stagecoach also made its whole Newbury, Thatcham, Kingsclere and Basingstoke route free on those days (West Berkshire Council, 1 December 2025). The council paid for it from government bus funding, and it was announced on 1 December. There is no word yet on whether it will return in 2026.

Parking

The council has not published any Christmas parking offer for 2026. For car parks and charges, see parking in Newbury, and for road closures on the switch-on weekend and beyond, Newbury roadworks.

Still to be confirmed

• The Christmas train timetable for 27 December to 3 January, including what Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford services do, and last trains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Network Rail announced its Christmas 2024 works on 26 September 2024, so the detail could appear any week now; we will add it here.
• Newbury & District’s 2026 Christmas timetable and whether free festive bus Saturdays return (announced on 1 December last year).

Also useful: Newbury Christmas bin collections and West Berkshire school term dates.