A Do Not Travel warning is in place today as a gas leak has caused major disruption between Reading and Swindon.

The gas leak is in the Didcot area and a safety exclusion zone is in place, which the railway is inside that zone.

SGN engineers are on site to fix the problem, but trains cannot run until the leak has been repaired.

Severe disruption is expected throughout the day.

Great Western Railway says it will operate as many trains as possible, with trains running between Reading and London Paddington, Swindon and Cheltenham Spa, Swindon and Chippenham / Bath and Bristol Temple Meads, South Wales to Bristol, Worcester and Oxford.

An hourly service between London Paddington and Bath Spa / Bristol Temple Meads will take a diversionary route to run.

Ticket acceptance is in place with Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Railway, CrossCountry and South Western Railway.

CrossCountry says ticket acceptance is in place with other operators and should not travel between Reading and Oxford.

The latest advice can be found on the National Rail website.

“We’re very sorry to passengers whose journeys will be disrupted because of this gas leak near the railway in the Didcot area. While the issue is not on the railway itself, it means trains cannot safely operate through the affected area until the leak has been repaired.

“We’re working closely with SGN and our train operators to minimise the impact wherever possible, but we’re advising passengers not to travel between Reading and Swindon on Wednesday.

“If you’re planning to travel elsewhere on the Great Western route on Wednesday, please check your journey before travelling and allow extra time for your journey as other routes may be affected.” 

Marcus Jones, Route Director for Network Rail’s Great Western route