Train services will be suspended between Charlbury, Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham for four days in March while Network Rail replaces life-expired track at Ascott-under-Wychwood and Honeybourne.
Buses will replace trains at stations between Charlbury and Worcester Shrub Hill on Sunday, March 24, and then between Charlbury and Evesham from Monday, March 25, to Wednesday, March 27, inclusive.
Trains will continue to operate between Charlbury, Oxford, Reading and London and between Evesham, Worcester and Hereford during the work, with a normal timetable resuming on Thursday, March 28.
Passengers are advised to check all train times, and those for replacement buses, using online journey planners or at staffed stations, as revised timetables will apply during the project.
To maintain links between Hereford, Malvern, Worcester and London during the morning and evening peak periods, the 05.23 train from Hereford to London will be diverted beyond Worcester Shrub Hill to reach London Paddington via Swindon and the 17.32 from Paddington to Hereford will also be diverted to run to Worcester via Swindon.
GWR will provide more information and details of ticket acceptance on alternative routes closer to the time of the work.
And late-night trains on the Cotswold Line will be affected by Network Rail track maintenance work in late February. From Monday, February 19, to Thursday, February 22, the following changes will apply:
- The 21.53 from London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill make an extra stop at Didcot Parkway to set down passengers for a connecting train to Oxford and will then run non-stop to Worcester using the route via Stroud.
- The 22.51 from Paddington to Worcestershire Parkway will make an extra stop at Shipton and terminate at Moreton-in-Marsh. A bus will replace this train from Moreton-in-Marsh to Worcester Shrub Hill
- The 22.00 from Hereford to London Paddington will terminate at Worcester Shrub Hill. A non-stop bus will link Worcester and Oxford, with an onward rail connection to London. A separate bus will run from Worcester to intermediate stations and then Oxford, but there will not be a connection to London from this bus.