Great Western Coffee Shop

You can currently buy tickets to Paddington with GWR for Saturday 28th December 2024. There are no direct trains to Paddington that day due to the blockade.The booking engine is offering services with no changes on trains that are due to terminate at Reading.

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RTT is also showing that Reading is a "Service stops for staffing reasons" on most of the diverts to Euston. Meaning you can't buy tickets to Reading on the diverted trains even though they are booked to stop there. That leaves passengers from Wales and the west with very few direct trains to Reading. By accident or design?

Today, doing the same search, you get a pop up stating no trains to Paddington, and the itineraries take you to Euston.

By design to stop London to Reading passengers from using the very limited services being provided to South Wales and the South West.

Passengers from Reading to the Southwest will still have the semi fasts to Exeter/Paignton/Plymouth. Yes, those for Cornwall will need to change at Exeter or Plymouth but I doubt we’re talking huge numbers.

Reading to South Wales will require a change at Swindon which should be a same platform change on platform 4.

It’s not ideal, but totally understand what GWR are doing, trying to ensure those travelling long distance aren’t crowded out by Reading passengers. A problem at times even when Paddington is open.

Random question, but is it because you are ending your journey at Paddington, so as long as you use "any reasonable route" your ticket is still valid?

For example, Lizzy line etc into London / tube from another destination

Most tickets are sold (or were?) to "London Terminals" but the oddity of the online thing reported earlier that I saw was that it said 0 changes and gave times.  To Paddington via Euston and the Underground - probably not.   Via Reading on a slower train, then to Clapham Junction and in to Victoria, probably included and valid.