Railway line to London Paddington blocked as trains expected to be ‘much busier than usual’

Extra trains will run during the day with night trains planned on key intercity routes

Stopping trains: all Great Western lines to and London Paddington are blocked (Simon Calder)

The main Great Western Railway line from South Wales and the West of England is currently blocked due to damage to overhead wires.

The train operator, GWR, says: “All lines between Slough and Paddington are blocked.

“Train services running to or from these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 90 minutes.”

In addition, says the train operator: “Due to a person hit by a train between Reading and Newbury all lines are currently blocked.” This part of the railway connects the capital with Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Many thousands of passengers were expecting to travel on GWR to the capital to pay their respects on the day of the Queen’s funeral.

Currently trains from Cardiff, Bristol, Hereford and Oxford are simply shown as “delayed” on the approach to London.

Some are being turned around at Swindon are Reading, with passengers expected to squeeze onto following trains.

Cancellations have begun, particularly of local services – which will affect trains to and from Heathrow airport.

GWR says: “We are very sorry about the disruption this morning and are working hard to get services running as soon as possible.”

Elsewhere the normal full weekday train service is being provided, in contrast to normal practice on bank holidays. Cheaper off-peak fares are available all day.

Several rail operators are laying on extra services, including some through Monday night, to allow as many people as possible to travel to the capital to pay their respects.

LNER, which runs trains on the East Coast main line from Scotland, north-east England and Yorkshire to London, said: “Our services and London will be much busier than usual. We encourage everyone to plan ahead and ensure you have a seat reservation before travel.”

The time when crowds are expected to be at their largest at stations is on Monday afternoon, when leaving London after the funeral. Passengers who delay their journey home are likely to experience a more comfortable journey.

GWR has added an hourly link from the capital to Swindon, Bath and Bristol on Monday night/Tuesday morning.

East Midlands Railway has the same same plan from London St Pancras to Leicester and Derby.

Off-peak fares are available on all the additional trains.