What’s happening?
Train services will not call at Crewkerne station from Monday 28 July until further notice.
Customers travelling to or from Crewkerne will need to use a connecting bus service.
Buses will run between Yeovil Junction and Crewkerne, and between Axminster and Crewkerne. These services will take approximately 30 minutes.
The car park at Crewkerne station will be reduced on 28 July to facilitate the rail replacement bus service. The two accessibility parking bays will be temporarily relocated and will be directly in front of the station main entrance.
Trains will continue to run through the station in both directions, calling at all other stations.
We are very sorry for the disruption this may cause.
What is the problem?
We are experiencing some of the driest conditions for around 200 years, and in the Crewkerne area this has dried out and shrunk the clay soil embankments that support our tracks. This is a problem known as ‘soil moisture deficit’, which Network Rail explains here.
Because track levels have been disturbed, our trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds, meaning we have to implement a 40mph speed restriction on four miles of track. Unfortunately, track levels cannot be restored to normal until ground conditions improve.
Why can’t trains call at Crewkerne?
If trains continue to call at Crewkerne it will create delays that will quickly spread along the West of England Line, leading to cancellations and large gaps between services.
As a result, we have had to make the difficult decision for trains not to call at Crewkerne.
When will trains call at Crewkerne again?
We will restore train services as soon as we possibly can, but until further notice, trains will not call at Crewkerne.
As hot and dry conditions are set to continue, we are warning customers that additional speed restrictions and further timetable changes are likely to be necessary west of Salisbury over the summer. We are carefully monitoring embankment and track conditions to understand when changes will be needed.
We will update customers as soon as possible, so please check back for updates. Once again, we are very sorry for the disruption this may cause.
