Data from the number of seats already booked shows that trains on Thursday, December 23, and on Monday, December 27, are the most in demand, with those departing between 10am and 2pm set to be the busiest of them all.
So which are the top 10 most in-demand trains this year?
1. 12.04 Paddington to Penzance on Thursday, December 23;
2. 12.04 Paddington to Penzance on Wednesday, December 22;
3. 10.04 Paddington to Penzance on Thursday, December 23;
4. 09.10 Penzance to Paddington on Monday, December 27;
5. 12.04 Paddington to Penzance on Monday, December 20 (has already run);
6. 11.04 Paddington to Plymouth on Thursday, December 23;
7. 14.04 Paddington to Penzance on Thursday, December 23;
8. 08.15 Penzance to Paddington on Monday, December 27;
9. 07.10 Penzance to Paddington on Monday, December 27;
10. 10.00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington on Monday, December 20 (has already run).
Trains between London Paddington and Bristol, and South Wales, also feature in the top 20 and GWR is asking all those travelling this Christmas to book in advance.
The company says: “Remember, you must reserve a seat, and try to travel at quieter times for the best experience. The company warns that services immediately before and after the Christmas period are set to be in demand.
“To help make sure everyone can travel safely, you must reserve a space before travelling on many of our trains. This helps us limit the number of people on these trains so it’s easier to socially distance. For reservable trains, we’ll automatically allocate you a space if one is available or ask you to try another service if not.
“Don’t worry, we always leave space on board for those with walk-up tickets, such as season tickets, or those who may have been disrupted.”
Their advice to those wanting to avoid busy trains is:
• Travel as early as you are able to. Services in the latter half of the week, and between 10am and 2pm, are busiest
• Also be aware that rail services will shut-down earlier on Christmas Eve, so check your journey in advance.
Journeys taken immediately after Christmas between the Westcountry and the Midlands and North may also be affected engineering works in the Bristol and Gloucestershire areas.
Work in the areas will extend beyond the usual Christmas Day and Boxing Day shut-down, affecting train services from Monday to Friday, December 27 to 31, New Year’s Eve. During this time, sections of track either side of Bristol Parkway will be renewed, to ensure the continued safe and reliable running of the railway.
A bridge is also being replaced between Gloucester and Cam & Dursley stations on behalf of the Cotswold Canals Connected Project to allow boats to pass under the railway.
Here is a summary of the changes to services:
• Trains between London and South Wales will be diverted via Bath Spa and will stop at Patchway instead of Bristol Parkway
• Trains between Birmingham and the South West will also be diverted, stopping additionally at Gloucester but not Bristol Parkway
• Trains will still run between Great Malvern and Gloucester as well as between Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury or the South Coast
• Buses will replace trains between Bristol Parkway and Patchway, Filton Abbey Wood, Bristol Temple Meads and towards Gloucester.
For those travelling to or from some Welsh stations, Transport for Wales’ ongoing work to develop the South Wales Metro is continuing over the festive period, with buses replacing trains between Pontypridd and both Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare from Saturday, December 27, to Thursday, January 6. Services between Radyr, Pontypridd and Treherbert will also continue to be replaced by buses in the evenings while overnight work takes place. For more information, please visit the TfW website.
GWR Head of Customer Experience Samyutha Bala said: “We have been working hard to make sure that people can be confident to travel safely, and that includes running as many trains and carriages as we can to make extra room, as well as enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures.
“Please do, however, plan ahead, reserve a seat, and be considerate of others.”
In line with the latest Government advice, GWR is encouraging customers to travel safely and customers are reminded to:
• Wear a face covering
• Wash your hands more regularly
• Buy tickets online, on a smart card or by using the GWR app.
GWR’s enhanced cleaning regime includes:
• A 24% increase in cleaning hours every week since March 2020
• Sanitising (fogging) of 1,120 vehicles every 4 weeks
• Carrying out 2,150 on board surface tests (ATP) every four weeks, to ensure the effectiveness of the cleaning
• 272 train cleaning processes reviewed, and many adapted
• Hand sanitising facilities at key stations across its network.
For further details of train services across the Westcountry and to South Wales and London Paddington, see the GWR website at https://www.gwr.com/, and for train services from the South West to the Midlands, North of England and Scotland see the CrossCountry Trains website at https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/