From the
Reading ChroniclePlanning to go to Windsor for a glimpse of the newlyweds?
Great Western and South Western railway services will lay on extra trains as 100,000 people are expected to travel to Windsor for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19.
Customers are advised that there will be long queues at key stations and to allow extra time for the journey.
GWR▸ will run to its maximum capacity on the Windsor Branch Line, but services on Saturday 19 May will be extremely busy.
A queuing system at Slough, and Windsor and Eton Central to help get people to and from the event as quickly as possible will be in place. Train services have been increased from two to four carriages (the maximum that can safely operate on the branch line) and will run every 20 minutes throughout the day.
South Western Railway has increased its service frequency to four direct, ten-carriage services an hour from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside, but trains will also be extremely busy.
A queuing system may be in place at stations that are expected to be especially busy including London Waterloo, Staines (which is where customers travelling from the western part of the route should change at), and Windsor and Eton Riverside.
Customers planning to travel from the London area are advised to use South Western Railway services from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside. Customers travelling from the West, South Wales and Cotswolds should change at Reading for Great Western Railway services to Slough.
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We help thousands of people each year travel to some of the biggest events in the country: Reading Festival, Glastonbury, Henley Regatta and many more. This will be one of the largest ever one-day events that has taken place on our network and our aim is to ensure our customers have a great day out and enjoy what will be an international spectacle.”
South Western Railway Managing Director Andy Mellors said: “We are very proud to be running train services to Windsor on the day of the Royal Wedding. It will be a momentous occasion which is why we’ve doubled our direct services from Waterloo to four an hour and will be running full ten-carriage trains to make sure we get as many of our customers to Windsor as possible.”
If you are planning to travel to Windsor allow plenty of time for your journey.
With large numbers of people travelling, GWR and South Western Railway also recommend that customers consider the following: Keep baggage to a minimum:
Thames Valley Police and British Transport Police may conduct security checks and excess luggage could delay your journey Wear sensible clothes for the weather conditions.
There will be additional facilities on site but please do ensure you are dressed for the conditions expected throughout the day
Stagger your journey home: both Windsor stations will be extremely busy.
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