From today until Sunday, train services will change on the Heart of Wessex Line with no trains running between Yeovil Pen Mill and Castle Cary for a week, while Network Rail complete vital improvements to the railway in the Yeovil area.
While the railway is closed, Network Rail’s team of engineers will replace 850 tonnes of ballast, the stone supporting a 250-metre stretch of track. This work is crucial to prevent the track bed from becoming flooded, which can lead to failures and rough rides.
During this time, engineers will take advantage of the line being closed to complete a range of other important work, including:
- Carrying out repairs to the semaphore signals (pictured) at Yeovil Pen Mill station to reduce the risk of failures
- Cutting down and removing dead, diseased and dangerous trees in the Yeovil area to reduce the risk of trees blocking the line and leaf fall onto the railway so we can keep trains running safely and on time.
- Track maintenance in the Maiden Newton area to ensure smooth and reliable journeys, including tamping – where engineers use a tamping machine to lift the track slightly and pack new ballast under the sleepers, before it realigns the track using laser measurement.
If our engineering work wasn’t completed continuously over one week, we would require many reoccurring weekend closures, causing significant disruption to passengers.
Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director for Network Rail, said: “While there is never a good time to close the railway, we have worked incredibly hard to minimise the disruption for passengers.
“This work is vital to ensuring this part of the network is strong for the years to come. Once completed, passengers will benefit from a more reliable journey between Yeovil and Castle Cary.”
Jordan Welsby, GWR Station Manager for Westbury, Wiltshire and Dorset: “This improvement work forms part of an ongoing programme of maintenance, helping to ensure we continue to provide consistent and reliable services.”
Network Rail has made a significant investment over the last four years to improve the reliability of the Heart of Wessex Line, which connects Weymouth with Bristol.
This ongoing improvement project started in 2020 when we replaced a bridge at Yetminster. We then carried out improvement works at Yeovil Pen Mill station and replaced four miles of track between Maiden Newton and Yetminster in 2021. Over 2022, the track around Yetminster was replaced and the signal box and Yeovil Pen Mill was overhauled.
During 2023, engineers replaced railway around Thornford station as well as replacing track between Maiden Newton and Chetnole. Most recently, the line was closed for a week in September 2024 for engineers to replace a mile of track between Thornford and Yeovil Pen Mill stations.
Image credit: Network Rail
