PASSENGERS planning to use the Great Western Railway network this Christmas are being urged to travel early as Network Rail gets ready for £25m work.

People are advised to make journeys on or before December 22 to avoid disruption from the upgrade being done at London Paddington and London Waterloo during the quieter period.

Between December 23 and 26, as well as on December 30, long distance services will start and terminate at Reading, not London Paddington, with commuter services terminating at Slough.

GWR operations manager Rob Mullen said: “While we recognise the disruption this work will cause, and thank passengers in advance for their understanding, it is vital to enable us to run more of our brand new Intercity Express Trains.

“These new trains are already delivering more seats, and will after timetable improvements agreed by Network Rail, deliver more frequent and quicker services on more modern and reliable infrastructure.”

For the full list of affected routes visit gwr.com/christmas.