Great Western Railway is urging its passengers to plan ahead for their journeys this Bank Holiday as Network Rail continues the electrification of the Great Western Mainline.
From Saturday 26th May to Monday 28th May 2018, Network Rail will be carrying out the upgrade work through Swindon, which means that the railway will be closed between Didcot Parkway and Chippenham; between Didcot Parkway and Bristol Parkway, and the South Cotswolds route between Swindon and Gloucester.
Improvement works will also be taking place over the weekend between Evesham and Worcester Shrub Hill.
This work is critical to allow GWR to continue to introduce its fleet of new Intercity Express Trains, or IETs, to help offer more seats and more trains with quicker journey times.
Changes to services
- Trains to London Paddington from South Wales will be diverted – adding up to 40 minutes to your journey time. The trains will not call at Swindon and Didcot Parkway, instead, trains will call at Patchway.
- Trains to London Paddington from Bristol Temple Meads services will be diverted – adding up to 20 minutes to your journey time. Trains will not call at Chippenham, Swindon and Didcot Parkway. (
- There will be an hourly shuttle service that will run between Chippenham and Bristol Temple Meads
- Trains will run between Chippenham and Westbury. On Sunday, coaches will replace trains.
- No trains will run direct between London Paddington and Gloucester. Passengers are advised to travel via Bristol Parkway, or via Birmingham New Street and London Euston.
- Trains between London Paddington and Hereford will start and terminate at Evesham. Passengers wanting to travel to Worcester Shrub Hill and/or Hereford can travel via Birmingham New Street and London Euston.
To keep you moving, an extensive bus replacement service will be in operation. Buses will run between:
- Reading and Swindon
- Swindon and Kemble
- Swindon and Chippenham
- Swindon and Didcot Parkway
- Swindon and Bristol Parkway/Patchway
- Swindon and Gloucester
- Swindon and Bath Spa (Sundays only)
- Chippenham and Westbury (Sundays only)
What did the officials say?
GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:
“Our new Intercity Express Trains are already providing more seats on long distance routes between Swindon, Bristol, London and South Wales, and with the electrification of the railway through Swindon, we'll be able to offer quicker journeys too from early next year.
While we are doing all we can to keep people moving, customers should check before they travel this weekend, as some journeys may take longer than usual.”
Network Rail Western Route Managing Director Mark Langman said:
“The upgrade over the bank holiday weekend forms a vital part of the Railway Upgrade Plan which will, once complete, help transform rail travel on the Great Western route.
The scale of the work is huge and we are completing it in as short a time as possible to minimise the impact for passengers.”
“The upgrade over the bank holiday weekend forms a vital part of the Railway Upgrade Plan which will, once complete, help transform rail travel on the Great Western route.
The scale of the work is huge and we are completing it in as short a time as possible to minimise the impact for passengers.”
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