PEOPLE travelling to the London Marathon this weekend by rail are being urged to plan their journeys after the operator confirmed that no trains would be running until after 9am on Sunday, April 23.

Network Rail is undertaking electrification work between Reading and Hayes and Harlington on the morning of the marathon, with Slough, Maidenhead and other Thames Valley stations set to be affected.

It means Great Western Railway (GWR) will run bus replacement services between Reading and London Paddington until 9am, which is also the start time of the marathon itself.

Therefore those looking to get to the marathon on time should get buses from Slough at 6.40am or 7.10am and from Maidenhead at 6.30am or 7am on Sunday. These services will get passengers into London Paddington by 8am at the latest, GWR said.

Other passengers are being advised to travel after 9am or to check before they travel and use alternative routes as provided. GWR said that passengers who had tickets for Sunday morning will also be able to travel on any service in the afternoon and evening.

Matthew Steele, Crossrail programme director for Network Rail, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their ongoing patience whilst we continue with this essential weekend testing as part of our railway upgrade plan.

“Passengers between Maidenhead and Paddington will see immediate benefits with the introduction of GWR’s brand new electric train services next month, with the provision of new electric trains on this busy route each day.”

Trains will still run between Hayes and Harlington and London Paddington.

Sunday’s works will see Network Rail carry out testing on a 12-mile section of track west of London between Stockley Bridge Junction and Maidenhead.

GWR said the electrification was “critical” to introduce new electric services between Maidenhead and Paddington in May and for the Elizabeth line services in 2018.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We started to run half hourly new electric trains in January, delivering over 10,000 more seats a day between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington. We look forward to being able to extend these services beyond Hayes to Maidenhead this coming May as Network Rail continues its work to upgrade the railway.”