THE World Cup final will contribute to a significant disruption to Great Western Railway services this Sunday.

A revised timetable will be in place with a significantly reduced number of trains due to staff shortages, which the operator attributed to a range of factors including Sunday's football showpiece in Moscow.

On-going engineering work, the good weather and the start of the school holidays in some regions have also been blamed for the disruption.

Long-distance services, including routes between Paddington and Bristol, South Wales, Oxford and Devon and Cornwall will be most affected.

Local stopping services in the Thames Valley are expected to run as normal.

Passengers are advised to travel as early as possible, and to consider switching their travel plans to alternate days. 

Great Western Railway has lifted ticket restrictions from its services tomorrow and Monday, so customers with tickets for Sunday can travel on other trains.

Tickets will also be accepted on CrossCountry trains.

GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “We will have managers and volunteers throughout our network to help at stations and on board, but unfortunately we will not be able to deliver our planned timetable of services; and the trains we are able to operate will be extremely busy.

“I would encourage customers to travel on a different day if they are able to and we will happily offer refunds to those who choose not to travel.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience this disruption will cause.”

Full details of the revised timetable will be available online from tomorrow for customers to check journeys before they travel.

Those who choose not to travel will be entitled to a full refund on their unused ticke, with the GWR £10 administration fee also waivered.

To claim a refund visit gwr.com/help-and-support/refunds-and-compensation/unused-ticket-refunds