Network Rail is warning passengers in Berkshire and North Surrey that there will be changes to their journeys during the October half-term holiday, from Saturday 25 October to Friday 31 October, while it carries out upgrade work on the lines between Wokingham and Reading and between Staines and Windsor.

Buses will replace trains between Wokingham and Reading for three days from Saturday 25 to Monday 27 October 2025 while Network Rail renews track.

Engineers will be replacing Reading Spur Junction, which forms the connection between the Great Western Main Line and the North Downs Line.

The work at this location is complex, and so Network Rail would not be able to complete it during a weekend line closure.

Passengers should check for the latest details on www.nationalrail.co.uk

Services are expected be amended as follows:

• South Western Railway services towards London Waterloo, via Ascot, Staines and Twickenham, will start and finish at Wokingham.
• Great Western Railway services towards Gatwick Airport, via Farnborough, Guildford and Dorking, will also start and finish at Wokingham.

More information about the programme is available on Network Rail’s Reading improvement web page.

Buses will also replace trains between Staines and Windsor & Eton Riverside between Saturday 25 and Friday 31 October 2025, while Network Rail works on renewing and maintaining track.

Engineers will be carrying out the work in several locations on the line. These include:

• Wraysbury, where workers will replace more than a kilometre of rail and stabilise the track bed
• Datchet Level Crossing, where workers will renew the road surface and improve drainage, in order to make the surface smoother and more reliable. This follows improvements to the pedestrian path carried out earlier this year.

Network Rail will also be working on two important structures:

• At Colne River Bridge in Wraysbury, workers will renew twenty wheel timbers, which are long blocks which support the track.
• At Black Potts Viaduct near Windsor, where work was carried out earlier this year, workers will replace fifteen wheel timbers, and install new fixtures, holding straps and walkways.

Two buses will run per hour between Staines and Windsor, and will call at intermediate stations.

More information is available from Network Rail’s Staines to Windsor improvement work web page.

“It’s important to stress that most of the South Western Railway network in Berkshire and North Surrey is fully open throughout the October half-term but we’re very sorry for the disruption to journeys in the Reading and Windsor areas during this period. We know there’s never a convenient time to close the railway, however passenger numbers are typically lower during the half-term week, making it the least disruptive time to carry out this critical work. Our teams will be working around the clock to deliver these upgrades, and once complete, passengers will benefit from smoother, more reliable journeys.”

Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director, speaking on behalf of Network Rail and South Western Railway