Great Western Railway (GWR) has warned that services linking Reading with Gatwick Airport will be disrupted until at least 17:00 on Christmas Eve because of an acute shortage of train crew. The operator posted an alert on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after 09:00, advising passengers that trains could be cancelled at short notice or diverted via Redhill, adding up to 90 minutes to journey times.
The Reading–Gatwick route is a critical artery for the Thames Valley’s technology corridor and for travellers making cross-country connections that bypass central London. On a normal weekday, the line carries roughly 11,000 passengers, including a large cohort of international business travellers who prefer to avoid a change on the London Underground. Today’s disruption has forced many to switch to coaches, ride-sharing apps or expensive airport taxis at a time when roads around the M25 are already heavily congested.
For those international passengers whose plans may now involve unexpected stopovers or re-routing through different countries, having travel documents in perfect order becomes even more important. VisaHQ can expedite visas, passports and other consular paperwork for UK travellers at short notice—particularly useful when rail disruption forces last-minute itinerary changes—details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/.
![Staff shortages force GWR to curtail Gatwick–Reading trains, complicating airport transfers]()
Network Rail confirms the staffing shortfall is unrelated to industrial action but reflects higher-than-usual sickness absence and difficulty sourcing standby crews during the holiday peak. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union says chronic fatigue and rostering gaps are an inevitable consequence of the post-pandemic recruitment freeze and calls on the Department for Transport to accelerate driver-training pipelines.
Businesses moving assignees through Gatwick in the next 48 hours are being advised to consider overnight accommodation near the airport or to route travellers via Heathrow Express, which is running to timetable until 22:00. Travel-management companies report a 40 per cent spike in last-minute car-hire bookings at Reading station and neighbouring Enterprise and Hertz depots.
The incident highlights the fragility of UK airport-rail connectivity just weeks before January engineering works further reduce network resilience. Corporate mobility teams should update duty-of-care alerts and ensure travellers have real-time journey-planning apps installed, along with contingency funds for alternative ground transport.
The Reading–Gatwick route is a critical artery for the Thames Valley’s technology corridor and for travellers making cross-country connections that bypass central London. On a normal weekday, the line carries roughly 11,000 passengers, including a large cohort of international business travellers who prefer to avoid a change on the London Underground. Today’s disruption has forced many to switch to coaches, ride-sharing apps or expensive airport taxis at a time when roads around the M25 are already heavily congested.
For those international passengers whose plans may now involve unexpected stopovers or re-routing through different countries, having travel documents in perfect order becomes even more important. VisaHQ can expedite visas, passports and other consular paperwork for UK travellers at short notice—particularly useful when rail disruption forces last-minute itinerary changes—details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/.
Network Rail confirms the staffing shortfall is unrelated to industrial action but reflects higher-than-usual sickness absence and difficulty sourcing standby crews during the holiday peak. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union says chronic fatigue and rostering gaps are an inevitable consequence of the post-pandemic recruitment freeze and calls on the Department for Transport to accelerate driver-training pipelines.
Businesses moving assignees through Gatwick in the next 48 hours are being advised to consider overnight accommodation near the airport or to route travellers via Heathrow Express, which is running to timetable until 22:00. Travel-management companies report a 40 per cent spike in last-minute car-hire bookings at Reading station and neighbouring Enterprise and Hertz depots.
The incident highlights the fragility of UK airport-rail connectivity just weeks before January engineering works further reduce network resilience. Corporate mobility teams should update duty-of-care alerts and ensure travellers have real-time journey-planning apps installed, along with contingency funds for alternative ground transport.
