Passengers travelling by rail in Somerset face major disruptions this weekend as essential engineering works coincide with staff strike action, resulting in drastically reduced services. Between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare, rail services will be effectively suspended on Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19.
Network Rail is undertaking critical maintenance on the Great Western Mainline over the weekend, including replacement of worn sections at Bristol West Junction—a crucial railway point allowing trains to switch tracks near Temple Meads. Replacement bus services will operate between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare; however, these buses will bypass Bedminster and Parson Street stations, leaving passengers there to use alternative transport.
Great Western Railway (GWR) will continue running trains between Weston-super-Mare and Exeter St Davids, while CrossCountry services will run only on Sunday, taking an alternative route between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton. This detour extends journey times by up to an hour.
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Compounding the situation, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union is staging a strike affecting CrossCountry staff on Saturday, halting all CrossCountry trains between Bristol and the South West for the day. Additionally, the service northbound from Bristol Temple Meads to Birmingham will be very limited.
Georgia Ehrmann, Regional Director of CrossCountry, commented: “On Saturday, no CrossCountry trains will run between Bristol and the South West due to RMT strike action. Service will resume on Sunday using a longer alternative route to Taunton.”
Ben Scott, Station Manager for GWR Bristol, emphasized the importance of the maintenance work: “These improvements form part of a broader project to maintain and enhance rail services in the region. While trains to destinations such as London Paddington and Cardiff Central remain unaffected, passengers travelling southwards should expect longer journeys and plan accordingly.”
Network Rail’s Lead Portfolio Manager, Bradley Wallace, explained the necessity of the work: “Replacing critical components at Bristol West Junction is vital to ensure the safe and reliable operation of trains passing through the busy Bristol network. We appreciate passengers’ understanding and patience during these essential works.”
For those travelling between Temple Meads and stations such as Bedminster or Parson Street, the usual rail replacement buses will not stop at these locations. Instead, passengers can use their train tickets on the A1 Airport Flyer bus service, which stops near these stations en route to Bristol Airport.
Passengers are strongly advised to check travel plans and service notices before setting out this weekend due to the exceptional scale of disruption.