I regularly find myself in the predicament of enjoying my weekend in London only to be faced with a transportation hurdle on my way back to Reading. It's a frustrating experience that many others, I'm sure, can relate with. Currently, there are late-night direct trains running from London Paddington to Reading at 01:42 and 03:34 on Friday/Saturday mornings. However, there are no such options for Saturday night/ Sunday mornings. This is particularly inconvenient considering that a surge of events in London typically takes place during these periods.

As a regular traveller, this has been a source of personal inconvenience and has also affected numerous other late-night workers and leisure travellers. Not only does the lack of service disrupt connectivity, but it also forces resort to more expensive modes of transportation or staying overnight.

There were 433 million journeys in the latest quarter (1 July to 30 September 2024). This is a 9% increase on the 397 million journeys made in the same quarter in the previous year (1 July to 30 September 2023). Furthermore, there were 1.7 billion journeys in the 12 months to September 2024. This is a 12% increase on the 1.5 billion over the 12 months to September 2023 (Office of Rail and Road). Let’s consider those travelling for work, social events, or cultural experiences. It's reasonable to assume that a significant portion of these travellers would benefit from an increased late-night service on weekends. 

As a community, we are calling on the train service providers to extend the late-night train run from London Paddington to Reading on Saturday/Sunday mornings, similar to the schedule on Friday/Saturday mornings. We believe this expansion of services to be a justified, reasonable, and beneficial adaptation to our current public transportation system.

We hope you will consider this plea stemming from a genuine need. Please sign this petition to support extending late-night train service on weekends for the convenience of all.