Rail services between Oxford and London Paddington will be hit later this month due to major engineering work.

Network Rail, is installing 14 sets of new points at Slough and two of the four tracks will have to be closed from Saturday, August 21, re-opening for full service on Tuesday, August 31. Over the August Bank Holiday weekend, services will terminate at Reading as all four through lines will be closed.

There will be a limited service provided into London Waterloo.

The knock-on effect will hit First Great Western's trains into and beyond Oxfordshire.

Services between Paddington and Oxford and the Cotswold Line will be operating with additional stops and longer journey times.

Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Rail Group is not expected to have its franchise renewed for the CrossCountry network, used by 16 million passengers a year, covering 100 towns as far apart as Aberdeen and Penzance.

The Strategic Rail Authority has ended talks over the company's bid to run the service until 2012. Sir Richard, who lives at Kidlington, holds a 51 per cent stake in the Virgin Rail Group.