Passengers travelling across the South West over the Easter bank holiday are being urged to check their journeys in advance as rail upgrade work takes place on parts of the network.
Network Rail has confirmed that the majority of services on the Great Western network will run as normal, but some routes will be altered while engineers carry out track improvements near Frome.
The work will take place at East Somerset Junction, where engineers will install new track to improve the reliability and smoothness of journeys.
Replacement Buses on Several Routes
From 6pm on Good Friday (3 April) until services resume on Easter Monday (6 April), replacement buses will operate on several routes.
These include services between:
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Westbury and Frome / Castle Cary
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Taunton and Castle Cary
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Swindon and Pewsey
While the railway is closed in the area, engineers will also carry out track maintenance, signalling work and vegetation management.
Some Long-Distance Trains Rerouted
Services operated by Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Plymouth or Penzance will run via a different route between Reading and Taunton, with some trains stopping at Swindon.
Trains will continue running between Reading and Bedwyn, although no services will stop at Pewsey during the works.
Additional services will still operate between Weymouth and Castle Cary, as well as between Bristol Temple Meads and Westbury after 6pm on Good Friday.
Passengers Urged to Plan Ahead
Mark Parker, lead portfolio manager at Network Rail, said the work is necessary to improve reliability in the long term.
“Most of the Western route will be open as usual this Easter, but we do have some important upgrades to carry out which will affect passengers on some routes.
“To keep people moving while this work takes place, replacement buses will be running on some routes and journeys may take a little longer than normal.”
Jordan Welsby, Station Manager for the Westbury area at Great Western Railway, added that customers should check travel plans before setting off.
“These alternative travel arrangements could make journey times much longer, so please plan ahead.”
Passengers can check services and plan journeys on the GWR website before travelling.
