Not many good railway journeys start with a trip to the dentist. That said, last week after the dental hygienist had told me how well I had been looking after my teeth, I sauntered across Hyde Park towards Paddington Station to make my way back home to Twyford. I am ashamed to admit that I had an almost Woosterian spring in my step and more than the usual confidence that nothing on my simple journey could possibly go wrong.
The impression was short lived. As so sadly is the norm these days, I arrived on the concourse to see that services were limited – this time because of vandalism – and that the usual four times an hour service has been reduced to half hourly.
To my mild annoyance, the next train was in 27 minutes.
Having spent years collecting the European Rail Timetable before working for it, and even longer taking trains from Paddington, I know this station and its patterns like the back of my hand. Ah, I thought to myself, I shall jump on the next long-distance train and get off at Reading. After all, they all stop there!
Looking up at the board, I could see that there was a 1200 train to Bristol and a 1203 to Penzance. Running time to Reading is about 24 minutes, so I thought that both trains would allow me sufficient time to get to Reading and then jump onto the next eastbound Elizabeth line service. All in all, I would arrive home a good 20 minutes earlier than waiting for the next service originating in Paddington.
Always wanting to 'score brownie points’ in the hope that it does me some good on the frequent occasions when I do something wrong, I thought, “let me go and buy my wife some sushi and I can catch the 1203 train,” so I waddled to see what I could find – only to discover that the fridges at Wasabi were not working so there was no raw fish on offer.
Contemplating what else I could do to expiate my many domestic sins, I headed for the 1203.
As the train left the station, I settled down, relieved to notice how good the acceleration was leaving the platform. Sushi or no sushi, I would be home in a jiffy. And I might even have time to pick up a jocular Ginsters pie from Reading station.
A high-pitched whine squeaked out of the loudspeaker but it was characteristically unintelligible, so I focussed on working out how European Sleeper’s new Brussels-Milan routes to Milano Certosa instead of Porto Garibaldi on some dates – a quirk of the timetable which perhaps should have reminded me that exceptions are often the norm on European railways.
Some 20 minutes later, I felt the train decelerating and looked out of the window to see the outskirts of Reading. I gathered my papers together and walked towards the vestibule. Slightly to my surprise, we entered Reading station at a stiffer pace than usual but I assumed that our driver was somewhat of a 'speed merchant’ (the good ones often are) so would brake late. Once the train had passed the second set of escalators, I realised that things were not quite right.
Rather bemused, I looked up at the information display, only to see to my horror, that the next stop was going to be Plymouth!
With my tail very firmly between my legs, I sought out the Train Manager and told him of my mistake, confessing my professional relationship to ERT.
Railwaymen are such good people – Dennis took pity on me, calmed me down and cheered me up by telling me that there was an unpublished stop at Exeter, where I could get off. Within a few minutes we were joking about whether I might be able to use the opportunity to watch some of the Test Match at Edgbaston. To make my journey back less painful (financially and in the embarrassment stakes), he even gave me a note for the TM of the first returning service to Reading and, best of all, slipped me a sandwich from first class.
I had of course been a complete fool. One can hardly preach the value of reading timetables only to not bother to read the information board at a station. That said, we all know that one of the joys of rail travel is the fun when it all does go wrong. And even when it does, there are worse places to be. Four hours sitting on a train gazing out the window and getting some work done – an almost perfect antidote to a trip to the dentist amid the commuter traffic of London. As I tucked into my sandwich packed full of Great Western’s finest selection of preservatives, I smiled to myself. “A bloody good thing I didn’t lug a load of raw fish down here.”
For those who are interested:
• European Sleeper's service on 12th September was scheduled to go to Milano Certosa instead of Porto Garibaldi (at the time of writing we don't know where it will end up). Their service on 24th October terminates early at Lugano.
• There are two trains a day on weekdays heading to London that do not stop at Reading: 0624 from Weston-super-Mare and 0626 from Swansea.
• There are three trains a day on weekdays from London that do not stop at Reading: 1618 to Carmarthen, 1658 to Great Malvern and 1918 to Swansea.
• The 1203 Paddington to Penzance does not stop at Reading until 11th September but does thereafter.
The Summer 2026 edition of the European Rail Timetable is available NOW in print and digital formats and is the perfect partner to our Rail Map Europe. Order here.
Photo: Passengers boarding at Paddington. Courtesy of GWR.
