Storm Babet has caused a massive disruption to Great Western Railway train services between Bristol, South Wales, and London.
The storm caused flooding to railway lines in the Royal Wootton Bassett area, which caused the closure of all lines between Bristol Temple Meads and Swindon via Bath, and between South Wales/Bristol Parkway and Swindon.
In such circumstances, a diversionary route via Gloucester would be used, but the route between Gloucester and Swindon is also closed, which means that there is no alternative route beyond Swindon to Bristol Parkway and South Wales.
Although Network Rail teams are working to reopen the lines, disruption will likely continue for at least the rest of today, Friday, 20 October. Normally, rail-replacement bus services would be provided to enable passengers to continue their journeys, but that option is not possible because of the severity of the flooding which has caused many roads to be closed.
Great Western Railway is advising customers to delay their journeys until tomorrow, and travel tickets today will still be valid for travel tomorrow, Saturday, 21 October. Anyone who has purchased tickets but does not travel will be able to claim a full refund or change their ticket, while anyone who does travel and is delayed by 15 minutes or more may be entitled to ‘Delay Repay' compensation.
Train services are still operating between Bristol Temple Meads/Bath Spa and Reading/London Paddington, but they are being diverted via an alternative route and journey times will be considerably extended.
Great Western Railway has made arrangements for its rail tickets to be accepted Transport For Wales services between Newport South Wales and Gloucester and CrossCountry services between Bristol Temple Meads and Cheltenham Spa via Bristol Parkway.
Both of those routes are still open and services are still operating, although if conditions deteriorate those services may change. An agreement has also been reached with several local bus companies to accept rail tickets, and further details can the arrangements can be found here.
For the latest information about the disruption and live train times, check details on the Great Western Railway TrainTracker.
Great Western Railway is continuously monitoring the situation with Network Rail and will keep its websites updated with the latest changes.
