Passengers travelling through Gloucestershire over this weekend and the following weekend are being urged to check their journeys before travelling as work to improve rail services takes place.
The railway will be temporarily closed as Network Rail engineers install new rails and track equipment to deliver smoother and more reliable journeys for passengers, and complete drainage work to improve resilience of the railway.
Work also continues on the construction of Charfield station, whilst further improvements will be made at Cheltenham Spa and Kemble.
On Saturday 11, Sunday 12, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April, buses will replace some GWR trains between Gloucester and Bristol Parkway, Gloucester and Stroud (Saturdays) and Gloucester and Swindon (Sundays).
CrossCountry trains will still run between Cheltenham Spa and Bristol Parkway using an alternative route. These trains will also call at Gloucester and Newport. Trains will also run between Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa.
Mark Parker, Network Rail lead portfolio manager, said:
“We’ll be working non-stop over the next two weekends to complete this essential work to improve journeys for passengers throughout Gloucestershire.
“If you’re planning to travel by rail, please make sure to plan ahead as some journeys will be altered with bus replacement services on some routes.”
Chloe Coglan, GWR’s station Manager for Cheltenham and Gloucester, said:
“We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause but the work planned will help to maintain train services across Gloucestershire for years to come.
“Trains between Cheltenham Spa or Gloucester and London Paddington will start or terminate at Stroud on Saturdays, but these won’t run on Sundays.
“To help customer to complete their journeys, replacement road transport will be provided for those stations affected on both weekends.
“It’s important customers are aware these alternative travel arrangements may make journey times much longer, so please plan ahead.”
To check your journey, please visit: GWR.com
Image credit: Network Rail
