Buses replace trains to / from Crewkerne until Monday 11 August 

Route(s) affected

Between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction / Gillingham (Dorset) / Salisbury / Basingstoke / London Waterloo, and between Honiton and London Waterloo

Description

From Monday 28 July, Network Rail are carrying out repair works to the embankments at Crewkerne. This means trains between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo will run non-stop between Axminster and Yeovil Junction, and not call at Crewkerne station.

Rail replacement buses will run between Axminster and Yeovil Junction, calling at Crewkerne, in both directions.

At present, it is expected train services will resume at Crewkerne from Monday 11 August. This is in line with a reduced temporary timetable that South Western Railway has introduced between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo. One train will run every two hours between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo. Journeys will take longer than normal. These timetable changes will be in place until further notice.

Customer advice:

If you're travelling by a replacement bus, your journey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete using this service.

The car park at Crewkerne station will be reduced to facilitate the rail replacement bus service. The two accessibility parking bays will be temporarily relocated and will be directly in front of the station's main entrance.

Further information:

We are experiencing some of the driest conditions for around 200 years, and in the Crewkerne area this has dried out and shrunk the clay soil embankments that support the railway tracks. This is a problem known as ‘soil moisture deficit’.

Because track levels have been disturbed, trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds, which means a 40mph speed restriction has been imposed on four miles of track.

If trains continue to call at Crewkerne, it will create delays that will quickly spread along the west of England line, leading to cancellations and large gaps between services.

You can find additional information about this on the South Western Railway website.

Check before you travel:

You can check your journey up to and including Friday 8 August using the National Rail Enquiries real-time Journey Planner.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please use our Rail Replacement Services page.

You can find the pick-up and set-down location of rail replacement services by checking station signage or by searching for your station on our Find a Station page.

Please be advised that replacement vehicles may be busier than usual, and you should allow extra time for your journey.

Compensation:

You may be entitled to compensation if you experience a delay in completing your journey today. Please keep your train ticket and make a note of your journey, as both will be required to support any claim.