RAIL passengers planning to travel between Oxfordshire and London or the South Coast over the Christmas and New Year period are being warned to plan their journeys in advance due to major engineering works.

The Great Western Main Line through Reading will be closed while Network Rail replaces a bridge, renews signals at the station and transfers control of the tracks through the Berkshire 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 the risk of delays.

In addition to the traditional shutdown of the rail network on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the route through Reading will be closed from Monday, December 27, until Thursday, December 30.

It will reopen for New Year’s Eve, then close again on New Year’s Day and Sunday, January 2. Normal services will resume on Monday, January 3.

As a result of the works, there will be major changes to First Great Western and CrossCountry trains.

FGW services between Oxford and London Paddington will be diverted via Banbury, using the Chiltern Line, with extended journey times. Cotswold Line trains will run as a shuttle service between Didcot Parkway, Oxford and Worcester.

Buses will replace FGW trains between Didcot Parkway, Cholsey, Goring & Streatley and Reading or Maidenhead.

CrossCountry services from the West Midlands and the North will start and end their journeys at Didcot Parkway, where buses will provide connections to Reading and Winchester for train services to and from Southampton and Bournemouth.

Passengers are being advised to check train times before setting out. Services are expected to be very busy, so advance ticket purchases and seat reservations are recommended by the train operators.

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.”