Great Western Railway 1P29 Train from Oxford to Reading
After almost 4 months in Europe, it’s finally time to head back to Singapore. I was at Oxford, and my flight back to Singapore was from London Gatwick Airport.
I had either the bus or the train option, both of which had pros and cons. the airline LGW bus would have gotten me a one-seat ride with my 40kg of luggage conveniently all in the hold, but it costed more at then-£28.
On the other hand, the train is both cheaper and faster if I went not via London Terminals, though the downside is that I will have to deal with lugging 40kg worth of luggage throughout the whole journey, including the transfer at Reading.
When faced with such a dilemma, it’s not surprising that I chose the train in the end.
Oxford Railway Station
The last time I’ll be seeing the façade of Oxford Railway Station on this trip.
The concourse of Oxford Railway Station.
As no Advance Single tickets were offered online for my time of travel, I simply headed to the ticket machines to buy a regular Off-Peak Day Single ticket not via London Terminals on the spot.
Even without an Advance Single ticket, I used the GWR journey planner anyway to fix my timetable to Gatwick Airport. I arrived in good time to catch the Great Western Railway 1P29 2.02pm train to Reading, for a longer transfer time at Reading, since I will be dealing with 3 bags crossing the platforms via the overhead bridge.
And I already know what will happen if I miss the train connection at Reading.
Great Western Railway 1P29
At 2pm, my empty Great Western Railway 1P29 train fresh from Oxford Carriage Siding 2 arrived at Platform 3 to collect passengers for the journey to Reading, Slough, and London Paddington. This train is formed of a 5-car IET.
The interior of the GWR IET in Standard Class. Since this was an empty train, I had no problems with luggage storage for the short 1-station hop to Reading.
My Great Western Railway 1P29 train departed from Oxford on time at 2.02pm.
Goodbye Oxford, you’ve been great.
Leaving with fond memories of The Swan & Castle, The Covered Market, Vaults & Garden, Zhang Ji, Cherwell Boathouse, and The Chester Arms.
Passing by Didcot North Junction.
Passing by Didcot Railway Centre.
Passing by Didcot Parkway Railway Station on the bypass line.
Merging onto the Great Western Main Line (GWML) at Didcot East Junction.
Approaching Reading Railway Station. That was a quick ride.
Reading Railway Station
My Great Western Railway 1P29 train arrived at Reading Railway Station at 2.23pm – 1 minute early.
Lifts are available at Reading Railway Station from the platform to the transfer bridge for easier movement with luggage.
Heading on the transfer bridge.
Platform information is displayed on screens prominent during my walk, but I was confident enough that my train to Gatwick Airport can only be departing from Platforms 4, 5, or 6.
Heading down at the south entrance where Platforms 1 to 7 are.
As my next train to Gatwick Airport was only at 3.01pm, I could take my time during this transfer, which helped me a lot with moving 40kg worth of bags across platforms.
Conclusion
Overall, a pleasant final ride on the GWR IET for this trip with a relatively empty train and plenty of luggage storage space available. Too bad this train ride was only 21 minutes long.