Network Rail to begin modernising work at Bristol East Junction soon

Network Rail has confirmed that they will soon begin eight weeks of upgrade work to Bristol East Junction, which serves Bristol Temple Meads station.

A major station in the South West of Britain, Bristol Temple Meads station is an old station, with much of the current infrastructure in and surrounding the station decades old.

Following assessment of the current set-up at Bristol East Junction, the decision has been made to fully overhaul the junction.

Along with renewing track and signalling equipment, a new line will be added for the new suburban services as part of the West of England Combined Authority's (WECA) MetroWest scheme.

Work to be completed at Bristol East Junction includes:

1. Removal of the old track and replacing with new track – including moving ballast where required
2. Taking down old signal gantry and old signalling equipment and replacing with new equipment
3. Altering the layout of track to improve the layout to allow for more trains

Work starts on Saturday 10th of July and is planned to finish on Friday 3rd of September 2021.

Impacts on Train Services

As a result of this significant piece of work, there will be a number of timetable changes to train services, including bus replacement services at times.

Train companies are working with Network Rail to finalise the timetable for this summer and passengers are advised to check before travelling and where possible plan ahead of their journeys.

More information can be found at GWR.com/Bristol and crosscountrytrains.co.uk/Bristol

Trains between London Paddington and South Wales or to the Midlands and North via Bristol Parkway, or to the South West via Taunton will continue to operate throughout this period.

There will also be no impact on long-distance train services to/from Bristol Temple Meads for the first four weeks, but some local stopping services will be different.

Saturday 10 July to Friday 13 August

• No direct trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central or Gloucester – these trains will stop at Bristol Parkway instead
• Severn Beach trains will run from Lawrence Hill (except Sundays) – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Temple Meads

Saturday 7 August and Monday 9 to Friday 13 August

• No trains can run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa – alternative road transport will be provided instead, adding around 30 minutes to journeys
• CrossCountry trains won't stop at Bristol Temple Meads

Sunday 8 August

• No trains can stop at Bristol Temple Meads – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Parkway, Bath Spa, Taunton, Weston-super-Mare or Severn Beach

Saturday 14 to Monday 30 August

• No trains can run between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa – alternative road transport will be provided instead, adding around 30 minutes to journeys

Tuesday 31 August to Friday 3 September

• No trains can stop at Bristol Temple Meads – alternative road transport will run to/from Bristol Parkway, Bath Spa, Taunton, Bedminster or Lawrence Hill

Network Rail Project Director, Jonathan Davies said: “Bristol Temple Meads station is an integral transport hub for the West of England and we are committed to improving the reliability and capacity of the railway for the benefit of our passengers, the city and wider region.

“Much of the track and engineering components at Bristol East Junction were laid in the 1960s and need to be replaced. Our work to upgrade this important junction is a highly complex engineering project which has taken years to plan and we are excited by the benefits it will bring to our passengers once complete.

“We recognise this work will result in changes to train services and we are working closely with the train operating companies to ensure passengers can still get to where they need to go, and we encourage passengers to plan ahead and check before they travel, particularly during this period.

“We would like to thank in advance our passengers and local residents for their patience while we undertake this important, transformative work at Bristol East junction.”

GWR Regional Development Manager, Matt Barnes said: “This work will in time help us to deliver 4,000 more train seats a day into the city, on more services through Bristol and help to reduce the conflict between long-distance and local stopping services, helping to maintain the reliability of our trains.

“We will continue to operate trains through Bristol during the period, but there will be some alterations to timetables and journey frequency, so please do check what is best for you if you're travelling during the period.”

CrossCountry Regional Director, Sarah Kelley said: “We know that punctual and reliable journeys are important, and this project is all about delivering that for our local and long-distance rail users travelling to and through Bristol.

“Through great cooperation with our industry partners we've managed to limit the impact of these works on our passengers' journeys. However, there may be delays and alterations on some days, so we're asking everyone to check their journey carefully before setting out.”

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