- South Western Railway (SWR) and Network Rail Wessex (NR Wessex) announced a new temporary timetable on Tuesday for the West of England line.
- The changes, effective from 10 August, come after prolonged hot weather and low rainfall drying out “clay embankments supporting the railway between Salisbury and Exeter”, which affects “the stability of the track”, according to SWR.
- Connections between Waterloo and Exeter St Davids will take up to 24 minutes longer, with return journeys taking 27 minutes longer than scheduled.
- Services between Yeovil Junction and Exeter will be reduced to one every two hours, and trains will operate at slower speeds between Tisbury and Honiton.
- Lawrence Bowman, managing director of South Western Railway, said: “Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common, and this is the second year in a row that prolonged hot, dry weather has affected our network.”
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