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Four railway stations across Network Rail’s Western route, which runs from Paddington to Penzance and as far north as Worcester, will benefit from a share of £300 million ‘Access for All’ funding.

Thirty years ago, on 4 April 1989, Her Majesty the Queen officially opened ‘The New Reading Station’, following upgrade work to improve passenger facilities.

A new pedestrian and cycle route will open in Reading later this month after two railway bridges were upgraded to create more space for a new cycle path and footpath.

Are you interested in finding out more about what it’s like to work on the railway? Members of the public are invited to attend an open day at one of Network Rail’s maintenance depots in Swindon, a historic railway town with links to the industry dating back to 1843 – almost 180 years.

Network Rail’s Western route is celebrating the hard work of all the fabulous mothers working on the railway, who balance being a full time mum with careers in an industry which runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – including times when most people are enjoying time off with their families, such as Christmas, Easter and bank holidays.

Network Rail is inviting residents to a drop-in session in Dawlish to update local communities on the new sea wall in the town that will improve the resilience of the stretch of railway that connects the South West with the rest of the country.

Network Rail’s Western route has experienced the best start to a year in terms of train performance since 2012, with over 90% of services running on time following unprecedented investment on new railway infrastructure and new trains.

The railway between Taunton and Exeter St David’s has reopened after a three-week closure thanks to Ivy and Holly the robots who helped carry out vital maintenance work in Somerset.