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Friday 22 Aug 2025

Station staff prepare for high volume of passengers this weekend, as revellers head to Reading Festival and Notting Hill Carnival

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Thousands of excited revellers will pass through Reading and London Paddington stations this weekend on their way to Reading Festival, which takes place from Friday 22 August – Sunday 24 August, and Notting Hill Carnival, held in west London on Sunday 24 August and Monday 25 August.

Those attending Reading Festival and arriving in the city by train can either walk approximately 20 minutes from the station to the festival site or catch a dedicated shuttle bus from the Northern exit of the station, with additional station staff on hand to direct passengers to get to where they need to be.

Paddington station is also expected to be busy this weekend as people travel to and from Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday 24 August and on the bank holiday Monday.

Monday is expected to be particularly busy as people head home after Reading Festival and a queuing system will be in place at Reading station to allow passengers to board their trains safely. GWR will be running extra late-night services on Sunday and in the early hours of Monday morning for those who wish to leave after the headline acts perform. More details and passenger advice can be found here.

CrossCountry is advising passengers that there will be significant disruption over the weekend because of industrial action, with no CrossCountry services running on Saturday 23 August. There will be no CrossCountry services from Reading on Monday 25 August. To find out how this may affect you, please check CrossCountry’s travel advice or with National Rail Enquiries. All other train operators will be running as normal.

Bernadette Sachse, Network Rail’s Reading station manager, said: “We’re expecting to see thousands of extra passengers passing through Reading station this bank holiday weekend on their way to the music festival. With Notting Hill Carnival also taking place, passengers should plan for both Reading and London Paddington to be busier than usual.

“It’s important that people get to where they need to be safely, and to support the high volumes of passengers we will have extra customer support services in action throughout the bank holiday weekend to make sure our stations are a welcoming environment for all who visit. Passengers are also advised to check their journeys with National Rail Enquiries to ensure they’re able to get to their destinations as smoothly as possible.

“We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend at both events and remind passengers to stay safe when travelling. If you have luggage with you, please use the lifts and make sure to stand back from the platform edge.”

Passengers who are planning to travel over the bank holiday weekend are being urged to stay safe around the tracks, platforms and concourse – both on the way to the festival and Notting Hill Carnival and on the way home.