This December will see the long arm of Transport for London (TfL) extending out to Reading as it takes over services from GWR between Paddington and Reading.
This is all part of the ramp-up for the delayed Elizabeth line, and TfL will run four trains per hour under the TfL Rail brand between Reading and Paddington from Sunday 15th December.
There’s no change to the service frequency though as this is a direct replacement of the existing GWR service with the TfL rail one — albeit with the new Elizabeth line trains.
Some fast services will continue to be operated by GWR from Reading, Twyford, Maidenhead and Slough to Paddington.
Although travelcard zones do not apply to stations beyond West Drayton, for the first time, customers will be able to use pay as you go with contactless across the route all the way from Paddington mainline to Reading.
However, contactless ticketing will not come into effect until the annual fares revision on 2nd January 2020, and Oyster pay as you go won’t be introduced at all beyond West Drayton, due to limitations with the system, which is now more than 15 years old.
Between 15 December 2019 and 2 January 2020, existing ticketing arrangements will apply and TfL Rail fares will remain at the same price as the current GWR fares. However, in line with TfL’s wider policies, children under 11 who are accompanied by an adult, as well as customers who are eligible for the Freedom Pass, will be able to travel for free to Reading on the new TfL service.
Once introduced, adult pay as you go fares to/from stations between Iver and Reading are anticipated to be cheaper or in line with standard single and return fares along the line. All fares will be set in line with Department for Transport policy and confirmed nearer the time.
TfL expects that GWR will also offer pay as you go with contactless on their services from 2 January 2020.
Station improvement work is being delivered by TfL and Network Rail at all stations between Paddington mainline and Reading including lifts providing step-free access, new station entrances, improved customer information systems, signage and waiting rooms. At Langley and Taplow stations, new passenger bridges across the tracks have been put in place, and, at Iver, all three lift shafts have now been installed, with the station on course to become step-free by March 2020. In the build-up to taking over services, platform lengths have also been extended along the line to cater for the new trains that will serve the line.
Network Rail will be undertaking some Christmas engineering work between Tuesday 24 December and Friday 27 December, a reduced service will run on Tuesday and Friday with replacement buses between Slough and Hillingdon. There will be no service on the entire line on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
I didn’t realise Oyster wouldn’t be introduced beyond West Drayton. I wonder how TfL will explain this on their maps or if they won’t bother like with the Heathrow Tfl Rail ‘zone 6’ that doesn’t change regular PAYG rates.
Are there any plans to add railcards to contactless cards? At least that would help alleviate a lack of Oyster on this part of the line.
I came here to say exactly that 🙂
I’m increasingly annoyed by the constant exhortation to use contactless rather than Oyster PAYG with the false claim that it’ll cost the same.
It won’t if you’re travelling off-peak and have a railcard loaded onto your Oyster.
I’m presuming this will turn out to be the first step towards the abolition of railcards.
what if you already have a Oyster travelcard covering (say) zones 1-2? travel from Canary Wharf to Iver (which I do 3 x a week)
before Xrail opens proper then at Paddington one will have to come in and out of gates from LUL to the NR station. and be charged contactless from Zone 1 despite already having paid for inner zones annually in advance?!
and after Xrail opens? are we expected to use contactless for the whole journey from Canary Wharf Xrail thru to Iver … and not use the travelcard at all??!!
I don’t quite understand your situation but from what I can gather you’d just continue doing what you’re currently doing? I’m guessing you have a paper ticket from Iver? Paper tickets will still be in use.
You can buy a paper ticket extension for a Travelcard to/from Iver. Then you touch in with the oyster Travelcard at Paddington and use the extension to leave the station at Iver or for an onboard ticket check. You can only buy paper extension tickets from ticket offices, which is irritating.
If you’re travelling off peak (so can buy an off-peak day) the return extension ticket from “boundary zone 2” to Iver will save you a grand total of 30p versus a Paddington to Iver ticket. Hardly worth queuing up for is it?
Of course, if you have more zones on your travelcard, or are travelling in the peaks, the saving is greater.
I saw somewhere else that it only be peak trains at four per hour, and only 2 per hour off peak, which is a step backwards as currently the GWR trains are about every twenty minutes. Is there an official tfl site to confirm the Times. Off peak, especially weekends can be crowded.
Off peak and at weekends TfL will operate 2 trains per hour. Calling at:
*Paddington
*Ealing
*Southall
*Hayes
*West Drayton and then all stations to Reading
GWR will still operate the Paddington – Didcot services. 2 trains per hour on weekdays during the off peak and Saturdays. 1 train per hour on Sundays.
They will call at:
*Paddington
*Ealing
*Southall (Sundays only)
*Hayes
*West Drayton (weekdays during the off peak and all day Saturdays)
*Slough
*Maidenhead
*Twyford
*Reading and then stations to Didcot
Times can be found on National Rail Enquiries. https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
I am concerned that TFL will charge higher fares at Slough/ Reading using contactless rather than Oyster. The excuse about Oyster being too old is a feeble load of codswollop.
Can you elaborate on why you think the reasons given about a 16 year old technology that is not supported widely outside London is “codswollop”.
Ok Oyster might be an old system but my worry is that contactless will e more expensive. How an I put it?
If Slough had gone into Oyster zone 8/9 which was widely muted fares would have come down. Now,with contactless, I don’t see this being the equivalent? It will e a 2 tier system!!
..do these new trains have toilets on board
No. Considered unnecessary as you can get off and use a train station toilet & board the next train which will arrive in 15 minutes. That was the official line when the Elizabeth Line trains were promoted. Two problems- find an open, working toilet on a station & what happens when the train stops between stations for an hour or more as happens frequently due to signal failure or a ‘jumper’.
It is a shame for so many business travellers that there is power to charge or table to rest a laptop on such a long slow route to london!
WILL I BE ABLE TO USE MY FREEDOM PASS TO READING
Had the misfortune to travel on the new tfl service between Paddington and Slough. The Trains are noisy, the seats are the most uncomfortable I’ve ever experienced, the service is slow, there are next to no tabled seats and the sideways seating is unpleasant. I’m pretty frustrated and the fast commuter service has all but gone. That’s progress for you
The stopping TfL trains are a direct replacement for the stopping GWR service – not a replacement for the faster service still offered by GWR.
Dear ianvisits
Can you please give a few reasons / your logic on why Railcards can’t be loaded on to Contactless cards, technology? data protection ?
Also how are the fares calculated on TfL Rail between Liverpool Street to Sheffield, as some stations which are further apart cost less than stations closer together.
Hope that makes sense !
Thank you
Dear ianvisits
Sorry I meant Liverpool Street to Shenfield.
Thank you
Why aren’t zones being added beyond West Drayton. Other lines have had this extended Watford… St Albans etc. There is a large network of ticket barriers I’m sure they can manage changes to accept oyster at Iver Langley Slough at least… will be a lot easier and cheaper for children to use saving a lot of school car journeys as buses very very slow
Explained in the 6th paragraph in the article.
For passengers travelling from Maidenhead to London the Elizabeth Line has proved a massive backward step. GWR has used the introduction of the Elizabeth line as an excuse to significantly cut the number of fast services both in the rush hour and outside of it. They, together with TFL, have also restricted the use of cheap day tickets and travel cards.
The Elizabeth line trains are extremely uncomfortable and ill suited to journeys of anything more than 15 mins let alone 2 hours (when the line is fully open). They also stop at every station. The Elizabeth line should have terminated at Ealing Broadway in the west which should have become a major terminus with GWR. Such a shame to waste so much public money for absolutely no benefit to the travelling public, at least those living beyond Ealing Broadway.
It’s crazy that being disabled and qualify for a freedom Pass you can’t get on because Reading is not a London Borough although it is part of TFL and if you look on the freedom pass map Reading is on there. So how do I get my freedom pass. Please let me know.
If you live in London, then you can qualify for benefits offered to London residents. Contact your local London council for details.
I’ve been a happy regular GWR traveller from Langley to Paddington for years but hate to agree with those who are less than impressed with the deterioration of service to us, the travelling public. I had hoped that Crossrail/LizLine would be a ‘step up’ in service but the lack of toilets is a bad deal for those of us – seniors – who probably need it more than younger users. The seats and the shortage of tables/charging points plus the shorter trains just are not good enough, TfL – of whom up to now I’ve been a major fan – has let us down badly here and no amount of huffing and puffing, reading out the policy/excuse rules will make up for this huge let down. Sorry, but it needs to be remedied. For each one of us who sadly feel the need to complain, there must be another ten who don’t bother because they know any whinge will fall on deaf ears. Just bite the bullet TfL and improve!!!!