Transport for London (TfL) is advising passengers that large parts of the Elizabeth line will be closed on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 November.

Because workers will be carrying out maintenance at Heathrow, the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express will not run to Heathrow Airport all weekend.

Piccadilly line trains will operate between central London and Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 4, but they are likely to be busier than usual. Trains will not run to or from Heathrow Terminal 5.

Passengers can travel by inter-terminal transfer bus between Terminals 2 & 3 and Terminal 5, starting from Heathrow Central bus station. Passengers travelling between Terminal 4 and Terminal 5 can use the free H30 bus or TfL buses 482 and 490 between Hatton Cross, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5.

Over the same weekend, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel Elizabeth line stations will be closed for routine maintenance. Passengers can take the Elizabeth line from Shenfield to Liverpool Street National Rail station and change for the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, London Overground, other rail services and local buses.

Elizabeth line trains will not run between Paddington and Abbey Wood during the weekend, as engineers carry out maintenance and work to extend mobile coverage in the tunnelled section of the railway. The work will support the availability of high-speed 4G mobile coverage at some stations by the end of the year and on the entire line by the end of spring 2024.

On Saturday 25 November, Elizabeth line trains from the west will terminate at Paddington National Rail station where customers can change for the Bakerloo, Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines as well as local buses.

On Sunday 26 November, Network Rail will be carrying signalling upgrades and work for HS2 at Old Oak Common. Rail replacement buses will operate west of Ealing Broadway in the morning, and limited train services will run later in the day. Paddington National Rail station will be closed all day, so passengers travelling into London from the west of England will need to change at Ealing Broadway for Central or District line services.

The Piccadilly line will also be closed between Acton Town and Uxbridge on 25 and 26 November, as workers continue the programme of replacing track to make services more reliable. The Metropolitan line will operate to Uxbridge as usual, and buses will replace trains between Rayners Lane and Acton Town.

Because of the closures, more passengers will be using the lines that are running, and TfL expects the Central, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines in particular to be very busy. TfL staff may need to restrict entry to some central London and West End stations during the afternoon and early evening to prevent them becoming overcrowded. Some bus routes may also be busier than usual, so TfL is advising passengers to consider walking short distances between stations if they are able to.

TfL is advising passengers to plan ahead, allow extra time for their journeys, and to use real-time travel tools such as Journey Planner and TfL Go.

Howard Smith, Elizabeth line Director, said: “We appreciate it is a complex weekend of closures with Network Rail, TfL and Heathrow Airport all carrying out works which may cause some disruption to customers. These works were planned several months in advance and should help ensure that the Elizabeth line infrastructure operates reliably. Network Rail and HS2 are also preparing for their new railway and station at Old Oak Common which will also mean some future closures. I apologise for any impact on journeys over the weekend and would advise customers to check before they travel using TfL’s travel tools, and plan in advance as trains and rail replacement buses may be busy.”