Friday 10 May 2019
Passengers advised to check before travelling this weekend as Network Rail upgrades signalling equipment in the Bath area
- Region & Route:
- Wales & Western: Western
- | Wales & Western
This weekend (11-12 May) Network Rail is working to upgrade signalling equipment between Bristol and Corsham in Wiltshire. This upgrade is vital to improve reliability, reduce delays and enable an increase in services to meet growing passenger demand.
Work begins at 1:30am on Saturday 11 May and finishes in the early hours of Monday 13 May, therefore trains between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads will be diverted via an alternative route and won’t be calling at Bath Spa or Chippenham stations. Rail replacement buses will be in operation and passengers are advised to check before travelling for details of how journeys will be affected.
This signalling work is part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and involves disconnecting, removing and replacing old signalling equipment. Once completed, signalling in the area will be operated from a state-of-the-art digital centre in the Thames Valley, which already covers much of the Great Western Main Line.
Project director Jonathan Davies said: “This signalling work is vital to ensure that the railway in the area is fit for the future and can meet growing demand for train services.
“Passengers will benefit from a more reliable and resilient railway, with fewer delays.
“Thank you to both passengers and the local community for your patience while we deliver this vital upgrade”
If you are planning a journey this weekend, please remember to check before you travel by using nationalrailenquiries.co.uk, or by visiting www.gwr.com
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office -Western route
MediaRelationsWestern@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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