Important track work in Kemble area

Trains between Swindon and Gloucester will be affected by rail improvement work planned for later this month.

Network Rail is renewing track in the Kemble area as well as carrying out track and lineside signalling maintenance.

This will affect Great Western Railway services that stop at Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse stations on Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 August.

• The vast majority of direct trains between London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa won’t run on these dates
• Customers can still travel to/from Gloucester and Cheltenham Spa by changing trains at Bristol Parkway instead (extending journey times by around 25 minutes)
• Replacement buses are planned to run to/from Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse

Ticket acceptance will be in place on CrossCountry services. For the latest information, visit our website at GWR.com/Upgrade.

Further planned industrial action will also have a significant impact on services. An Aslef strike among GWR train drivers on Saturday 13 August will also mean changes to services on Sunday 14 August.

The RMT and TSSA have announced further strikes for Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August. This will also impact on the days following the strikes. For the very latest information visit GWR.com/strike

GWR’s station manager for the South Cotswolds, Chris Rule, said: “This upgrade work in the Kemble area is important to help us to maintain those important train services running on the Golden Valley line between Swindon and Gloucester.

“On these dates, customers at Cheltenham Spa or Gloucester will still be able to travel to towards London by using their tickets to change trains at Bristol Parkway instead.

“Replacement buses are planned for Kemble, Stroud and Stonehouse, however, as travel by road is slower than by rail, customers may need to leave more time for their journeys.”

Network Rail’s project manager, Bradley Wallace, said: “The Golden Valley provides a vital transport link for passengers travelling between Swindon and Gloucester.

“This track upgrade and signalling maintenance work allows us to ensure that passengers will continue to experience safe and reliable journeys in the future.

“I would like to thank passengers in advance for their patience while we carry out these vital upgrades.”

Photo credit: Great Western Railway

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