TWO old-fashioned Great Western Railway signals are clearing the way for one of Britain’s biggest Rail modernisation projects.

The mechanical signals have been installed at Banbury station to allow First Great Western trains between Oxford and London to reverse there during diversions over Christmas and New Year.

The Great Western main line through Reading will be closed while Network Rail renews signals and transfers control of the tracks through the town to the Thames Valley signalling centre at Didcot.

The work is part of an £800m expansion of Reading station over the next six years to allow it to handle more trains and passengers and to reduce delays to services, including those between Oxfordshire and London Paddington.

While the line at Reading is blocked, from December 27-30 this year and January 1-2 next year, FGW will operate two trains an hour each way between Oxford and London Paddington by diverting them via Banbury and along the Chiltern Line. Buses will replace trains between Didcot Parkway, Reading and Maidenhead throughout the work.

Another change to allow diverted trains to reverse has been made at Aynho junction, south of Banbury, where the Chiltern Line and the Oxford-Banbury route meet.

Signs showing drivers of FGW high speed trains where to stop and a trackside path for them to walk safely from one end of the train to the other have also been installed.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “This Christmas we will be completing the first major phase of work at Reading as part of our £800m project to transform the railway and remove one of the last remaining pinch-points.

“To keep passengers on trains rather than use replacement buses, we’ve carried out improvements at Banbury which will allow trains from Oxford, the west of England and South Wales to be diverted around the blockade using the Chiltern Line.

“Journey times will be extended, but we know that passengers would much rather stay on a train than change on to a bus.

“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding as we carry out this vital work.”

For details of the changes to services over Christmas and the New Year, see the First Great Western website and for details of the Reading station project, see the Network Rail website.