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Title: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: Chris from Nailsea on October 05, 2014, 19:53:12 From the Western Daily Press (http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Railway-line-shut-flood-resilience-work/story-23042452-detail/story.html):
Quote Railway line to shut for flood resilience work (http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/images/localworld/ugc-images/276309/Article/images/23042452/6980963-large.jpg) Flooding on the railway line on the Somerset Levels The railway line between Castle Cary and Taunton will be closed for ten days from tomorrow as Network Rail carries out the first phase of flood resilience work on the Somerset Levels, which is expected to have a final cost of ^25 million. The line between the two towns was among several routes hit by last winter's floods. The closure will allow Network Rail to carry out 200 hours of track renewal. The work will include protecting signalling equipment from the effects of severe weather, which Network Rail says was one of the hidden factors that caused problems. The section of line is on the London-Penzance route, operated by First Great Western. The company is encouraging customers planning to travel between the two stations to check journey times and routes. Rail services will operate between London Paddington and Castle Cary, and between Taunton and Penzance. London Paddington/Penzance services that would normally pass through the affected area will be diverted via Bristol, and run non-stop between Taunton and Reading, extending journey times by 30 minutes. A Network Rail spokesman said: "This is a critical route which was badly affected by the floods of last February, and throughout this year we are concentrating on flood defences and resilience across the South West." Further work which will form part of the ^25 million package includes culvert and drain clearance and the construction of flood protection earth banks. The news was welcomed by David Redgewell of the watchdog South West Transport Network. "It's excellent investment in Somerset and will hopefully prevent the line being closed again," he said. Title: Re: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: ChrisB on October 05, 2014, 20:01:33 Not so....open this Friday, isn't it?
Thought it was Mon 6th - Thurs 9th and Mon 13th to Fri 17th? Title: Re: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: grahame on October 05, 2014, 20:02:02 services that would normally pass through the affected area will be diverted via Bristol, and run non-stop between Taunton and Reading, extending journey times by 30 minutes. Huge shame that Westbury stops aren't replaced by one at Swindon or Chippenham .... makes it harder for West country connections! https://www.facebook.com/TransWilts/photos/a.402860103147371.1073741825.294993730600676/563139013786145/?type=1 Quote The news was welcomed by David Redgewell of the watchdog South West Transport Network. "It's excellent investment in Somerset and will hopefully prevent the line being closed again," he said. It may prevent flood closures ... I wonder if the paper left out some of Davids words ... "will hopefully prevent the line being closed again so often" ... Title: Re: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: TonyK on October 05, 2014, 20:24:02 FGW's Journey Checker tells us:
Quote Planned engineering work will take place. Between Castle Cary and Taunton From 02:00, Monday 06 October 2014 to 02:00, Friday 10 October 2014. Additional Information: Monday to Thursday Services between London Paddington and Taunton, Exeter, and beyond will be operating to an amended timetable due to flood protection work between Castle Cary and Taunton. So there's still a few hours to go! Title: Re: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: trainer on October 05, 2014, 22:39:42 Looking at the weather forecast for tonight there seems to be a possibility that the resilience will be tested almost immediately.
Title: Re: Line between Castle Cary and Taunton to be closed for 10 days from 5 Oct 2014 Post by: bobm on October 05, 2014, 23:20:16 services that would normally pass through the affected area will be diverted via Bristol, and run non-stop between Taunton and Reading, extending journey times by 30 minutes. Huge shame that Westbury stops aren't replaced by one at Swindon or Chippenham .... makes it harder for West country connections! I know at least one - the 12:56 ex-Plymouth - will call at Swindon vice Westbury. This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |