Great Western Railway is reminding rail passengers travelling through Bath to plan ahead, as Network Rail begins major restoration work on two historic Brunel structures later this month.

At Sydney Gardens, the historic footbridge will undergo grit-blasting, structural steel and masonry repairs, a full repaint, and replacement of its timber deck over a three-month programme. Engineers will also carry out repairs and surveys at the Grade II-listed eastern portal of Box Tunnel.

To enable the work, scaffolding will be installed during planned possessions of the line between Bath Spa and Chippenham across consecutive weekends: 25 to 26 April and 2 to 4 May. These closures will also support track renewals at Bathford and drainage upgrades in Corsham.

Rail replacement buses will operate between Bath Spa and Chippenham or Westbury, with tickets accepted on local First Bus services between Bath and Trowbridge or Frome.

Services between London Paddington and Bath Spa will divert via Bristol Temple Meads, not calling at Chippenham, though some services will continue to serve the station outside of Sundays.

Passengers, including those travelling to the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, 26 April, are advised to check journeys in advance and allow additional time.

“We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause but the work planned will help us to maintain our train services in the area for years to come.

“Rail replacement services are planned for those stations affected and ticket acceptance is in place on some local bus services in the area as an alternative.

“It’s important that customers are aware these alternative travel arrangements could make journey times much longer, so please plan ahead.”

Oana Apetroaie, GWR Station Manager for Bath Spa and Chippenham.