Ross Lydall Explains Why GWR Trains Might Stop At Euston In Coming Years

Ross Lydall took a GWR test train into Euston - which may become a more frequent occurrence in the years to come.

Transcript

00:00This is Paddington Station, the London terminus of the Great Western Railway.

00:06But for periods over the next five or six years, the track into Paddington will be closed

00:12for work on the HS2 station at Old Oak Common.

00:17Now, what is GWR going to do with its passengers?

00:21Well, the good news is it has a plan and it aims to take them, not to Paddington,

00:27but to Euston instead to get them into central London by a different route.

00:32Now, how is that going to work? Well, we're going to find out today.

00:36Let's take a look at how the preparations are going.

00:43The first day that we're doing this will be the 17th of November, and that's just one Sunday.

00:48We'll then be doing it over Christmas, so there's five days over Christmas,

00:54including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and then progressively over the next five, six, seven years,

00:59there'll be works that will mean that we'll go into Euston over many of those Christmases

01:06over a shorter or longer period.

01:09But also, you know, it gives us the opportunity to do that if necessary at any other time as well.

01:16So we've just gone through Ealing Broadway. The pantograph has come down and we're now using diesel engines.

01:22We'll swing round to Acton and then up to Wilsdon, where this train will join the West Coast Main Line all the way into Euston.

01:30What we're doing is we'll have an hourly service from the south-west of England, so Cornwall-Devon.

01:35We'll have an hourly service from South Wales, which will go into Euston.

01:39We'll then have a number of trains that will terminate at Reading and connect there,

01:45and we'll also have a number of trains that go through to Ealing Broadway for the more local journeys,

01:50and they'll be able to connect there onto the London Underground and into London Dublin.

01:54So here we are. We have arrived in Euston.

01:58Now, this is not a common sight, but passengers will start to experience this from November the 17th,

02:05and then for three days after Christmas this year, and then for the next six or seven years.

02:10In 2028, a total of 18 days around the Christmas period will involve GWR trains running into Euston.

02:18Now, one other important fact worth mentioning is that this will also be the case for the Elizabeth Line trains.

02:24They won't come to Euston, but they will be diverted.

02:28The Elizabeth Line, over the same period, will only run between either Heathrow and Reading and into Ealing Broadway,

02:34and then from Paddington, so there will be no Elizabeth Line trains between Ealing Broadway and Paddington

02:40for the same period of time, over the next six or seven years, until finally Old Oak Common and the SHS2 station come on stream.