Sore Fingers 2013: disruption to rail travel

John Wirtz, organiser of the Sore Fingers Summer School to be held 1-5 April 2013 at Kingham Hill School, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, sends this announcement:

Sore Fingers Week 2013: disruption to rail travel
We have prepared this travel brief for students who normally travel to Kingham by rail.

Network Rail are rebuilding Reading Station and as a result, no trains will be running through there on Sunday 31 March, the day many S.F. Week students will be travelling to Kingham. A special timetable will be in operation.

If you have booked a ticket, you are advised to visit the First Great Western website for the latest information. The special timetables can be downloaded from this website.You can also call their Customer services: 08457 000 125 (7.00 a.m.–10.00 p.m. every day)

Please note we will not be updating this information, and please do not call Sore Fingers Summer Schools for travel information.

On Sunday 31 March, we will be meeting trains at Kingham station with a shuttle bus as normal between 14:30 and 18:30.

A summary of the changes is as follows:

1 From London:
Train Services from London to Oxford will be re-routed through Banbury. This will result in extended journey times - on average an hour longer than normal. To get to Kingham, a change of train will be required at Oxford.

2 From Heathrow Airport:
It is recommended to go to London Paddington by Heathrow Express and get a train to Oxford via Banbury. Change at Oxford for Kingham.

The Rail-Air bus service will run from Heathrow to Reading. At Reading, it will necessary to catch another bus to Didcot Parkway station, where trains will run to Oxford and Kingham. You might need to change at Oxford for Kingham.

3 From the North (Worcester, Birmingham and beyond)
Services from the North will be less affected but there will be a revised timetable in operation.

4 From the West of England (Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Devon and Cornwall)
Trains will either terminate at Didcot Parkway or run through to Oxford. Change at Didcot or Oxford to get a connection to Kingham.

This information will also be downloadable from the Sore Fingers website.