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Taunton area rail improvements

Updated February 2023

Taunton improvements – Monday 20 to Thursday 23 March 2023

This March, Network Rail will be carrying out essential improvement works through Taunton station.

This work is essential to protect the ongoing safety of the route and involves relaying life-expired track and replacing lineside equipment.

This page will guide you through what’s happening, highlighting the services affected and providing clear advice to help you travel as smoothly as possible during this time.

What’s happening

Map of rail improvement work in the Taunton area, with full information available in the page below.

Download this map of improvement works in the Taunton area (PDF) (PDF, 459 KB).

What it means to our services

  • A reduced number of long-distance trains between London Paddington and Devon/Cornwall will run, but these will be diverted. Journey times will be extended by around 60 minutes.
  • No trains will run between Castle Cary/Weston-super-Mare and Tiverton Parkway. Replacement buses will run on these routes.
  • Trains will also continue to run either side of the closure, although services may be reduced with departure times different to normal.

Our advice

  • Check carefully before travelling, departure times may be different to normal.
  • Journey times on diverted trains or replacement buses will be extended so allow plenty of time to arrive at your destination.
  • If your journey involves a replacement bus, check where the bus will depart from as this may not be next to the station. Use our handy table further down this page.
  • Car park spaces will be reduced at Castle Cary during these works. Please avoid parking here to connect with trains if you can.

Replacement buses

Route Frequency Journey time
Weston-super-Mare – Taunton – Tiverton Parkway* – Exeter St Davids Hourly (more at peak times) 2 hours
Weston-super-Mare – Highbridge & Burnham – Bridgwater – Taunton Hourly (more at peak times) 1 hour 10 minutes
Tiverton Parkway – Taunton – Castle Cary Hourly 1 hour 40 minutes
Bristol Parkway – Taunton (operated by CrossCountry) Hourly 1 hour 20 minutes
Bristol Parkway – Tiverton Parkway (operated by CrossCountry) Hourly 1 hour 30 minutes

*Limited services at this stop

Where to catch our replacement buses

Buses will depart from the following locations:

Station Bus stop location
Bridgwater Front of the station
Bristol Parkway Front of the station
Castle Cary Station car park
Exeter St Davids Front of the station
Highbridge & Burnham Front of the station
Taunton North side of the station
Tiverton Parkway Front of the station
Weston-super-Mare Front of the station

More information about replacement buses

Some of our replacement bus routes for these works cover a large distance so it's important to know what to expect when travelling on these services.

Please visit our dedicated replacement buses page for all the information you need for travelling on replacement buses including:

  • Types of replacement buses we operate
  • Travelling with animals, bikes, pushchairs or large items of luggage
  • On-board facilities
  • Changing between train and bus
  • Accessibility

CrossCountry services

CrossCountry trains will continue to run trains from the north as far as Bristol Temple Meads. However, you should change at Bristol Parkway for replacement buses towards Taunton or Tiverton Parkway.

Train services will also operate hourly between Tiverton Parkway and Plymouth with some running to/from Penzance.

Using Castle Cary station

Whilst these engineering works are being carried out, most trains towards London Paddington will depart from Platform 2 instead of Platform 1.

Only the 12:26, 14:31 and 15:34 departures to London Paddington are due to depart from Platform 1.

If you require step-free access at Castle Cary for any other services, you should use Westbury instead. An accessible taxi will be provided if you book assisted travel with us in advance.

Help with your journey

If you are not able to travel on our replacement services, an accessible taxi can be arranged for you. You can do this by:

  • booking in advance at GWR.com/PassengerAssist
  • speaking to a member of staff at the station on the day of travel*
  • use the Help Point available at all of our stations on the day of travel*

*please allow additional time as an accessible taxi may not be available immediately. Booking in advance is the best way to ensure a smooth journey.

Other engineering work affecting services

In addition to these works, here is a summary of other improvement work that will affect trains in the Taunton area. For more details see our dedicated Planned Engineering page.

When What's happening
Saturday 18 February to Thursday 2 March No trains run between Reading and Westbury (via Newbury). Trains between London and the south west will be diverted via Swindon.

Similar works will also affect services on Sunday 5 March as well as the weekend of 11/12 March
Weekend of 18/19 March Saturday 18 March (all day) and Sunday 19 March (from 16:30)
No trains run between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot.

Sunday 19 March (until 16:30)
No trains run between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth/Paignton.
Friday 7 to Monday 11 April (Easter weekend) No trains run between Reading and Westbury (via Newbury). Trains between London and the south west will be diverted via Swindon.

Similar works will also affect services on Sunday 16 and 23 April as well as Sunday 14 May.
Sunday 30 April to Wednesday 3 May No trains run between Westbury and Taunton (via Castle Cary). Trains between London and the south west will be diverted via Bristol.

Still have questions?

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