Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what duration they estimate that services between London Paddington and Cardiff Central stations will be disrupted to facilitate the development of HS2; and from what date disruptions will begin.

The construction works at Old Oak Common are scheduled to take place in stages, with several planned possessions through to the early 2030’s, of which the most extensive will be over the Christmas periods. Network Rail’s current plans do not involve widespread weekend closures; while most of the construction work will take place during the Christmas period closures, it is expected only two of the four tracks will be available on the Great Western Mainline at times.

The Government is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London, and the train operating companies to minimise the impacts of disruption, synchronising the timing of works with other works planned on the route wherever possible and ensuring the continued operation of rail services.

During the All-Line Blocks where no trains will be able to go to London Paddington, a limited number of services will be diverted to London Euston (to continue to provide service access into Central London), and other trains will terminate at Reading or Ealing Broadway (where passengers can use London Underground services to continue their journey to Central London). As the minister responsible for the delivery of HS2 Phase 1, I understand that minor and preparatory works for Old Oak Common will proceed in parallel with routine maintenance on the line, while I expect that the significant possessions required to bring Old Oak Common into use will not happen for several years.