Heart of Wessex Line

Heart of Wessex Line
Overview
Type Suburban rail, Heavy rail
System National Rail
Status Operational
Locale Wiltshire
Dorset
South West England
Operation
Owner Network Rail
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Heart of Wessex Line
Bristol to Exeter Line
Bristol Temple Meads
Cross Country Route
St Anne's Park
Keynsham
Saltford
Twerton-on-Avon
Oldfield Park
Westmoreland Road
goods yard
Bath Spa
Hampton Row Halt
Bathampton
Bathampton Junction
Great Western Main Line
Bristol & North Somerset Rly
(Camerton branch)
Limpley Stoke
Freshford
Avoncliff
Bradford-on-Avon
Bradford Junction
to Chippenham
Trowbridge
Reading to Taunton Line
Westbury
Wessex Main Line
to Salisbury
Bristol and North
Somerset Railway
Radstock West
1875
1959
Mells Road
1887
1959
Frome
1851
 
Whatley Quarry
Witham
1856
1966
East Somerset Railway
to Wells
Strap Lane Halt
Bruton
1856
 
Somerset and Dorset
Joint Railway
Castle Cary
1856
 
Reading to Taunton Line
Sparkford
1856
1966
Marston Magna
1856
1966
Yeovil to Taunton Line
Yeovil Pen Mill
Yeovil Town

1967 rationalisation link
West of England Main Line
to Exeter

Yeovil Junction

Clifton Maybank goods
West of England Main Line
to Salisbury
Thornford
1936
 
Yetminster
1857
 
Chetnole
Evershot Tunnel
Evershot
Cattistock
Bridport branch
Maiden Newton
1857
 
Grimstone Viaduct
Grimstone and Frampton
1857
1966
Bradford Peverell &
& Stratton Halt
1933
1966
Poundbury Tunnel
Dorchester West
1857
 
Dorchester Junction
South Western Main Line
Monkton and Came Halt
1905
1957
Bincombe Tunnel
Upwey Wishing Well Halt
1905
1957
Upwey(original station)
Abbotsbury branch
1885
1952
Upwey
1886
 
Radipole Halt
1905
1984
Portland Branch Railway

Weymouth

Weymouth Harbour Tramway

Weymouth Quay

The Heart of Wessex Line, also known as the Bristol to Weymouth Line, is a railway line that runs from Bristol Temple Meads to Westbury to Weymouth in England. It shares the Wessex Main Line as far as Westbury and then follows the course of the Reading to Taunton Line as far as Castle Cary.

History

Places served

The cities, towns and villages served by this route are listed below:[1]

Operator

Passenger services are currently operated by Great Western Railway and South West Trains.

Most Great Western services originate from Bristol Temple Meads or from Westbury. Some originate from towns and cities beyond Bristol such as Gloucester, Cheltenham and Great Malvern.[1]

South West Trains operate a limited service between London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction via Castle Cary. In summer 2016 they also ran a "seaside special" service between Weymouth and Salisbury or Waterloo via Yeovil Junction.[2]

Rolling stock

Services are provided on Sprinter diesel multiple unit trains built during the late 1980s and 1990s, typically of 2 or 3 coach Class 150, with some Class 158 trains. South West Trains services are operated by Class 159s.

As part of the ongoing 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, which will see Thames Valley commuter lines electrified, Class 150 trains in Wessex are scheduled to be displaced by Class 166 trains released from the Thames Valley.[3]

Past rolling stock has included locomotive-hauled trains, including British Railways Mark 2 coaches hauled by Class 67 used to strengthen high-demand summer Saturday services in 2008–2010 between Bristol and the seaside resort of Weymouth.

Community rail

A Bristol to Weymouth Rail Partnership was created in 1998 so that local authoriites could support the line. In 2003 this was rebranded as the Heart of Wessex partnership and line.[4] It is designated a Community rail Line.[5]

Accidents and incidents

References

  1. 1 2 "Brighton, Portsmouth and Weymouth - Bristol, Cardiff, Gloucester and Great Malvern" (PDF). National Rail Timetable. Network Rail. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  2. "Proposals unveiled for direct trains between North & South Dorset". ITV News. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  3. "How the West will win with new trains". Rail magazine. 15 April 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. "Route Prospectus, Bristol to Weymouth Line" (PDF). GOV.UK. Department for Transport. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  5. "Community rail lines". GOV. UK. Department for Transport. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  6. "Extraordinary Railway Accident". The Bradford Observer (787). Bradford. 22 March 1849. p. 7.
  7. "Accident on the Great Western Railway". The Times (21332). London. 22 January 1853. col F, p. 3.
  8. "Accident on the Great Western Railway". The Times (25206). London. 8 June 1865. col C, p. 11.
  9. "London and South Western Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade. 21 August 1868. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  10. "Collision on the North Western Railway". The Pall Mall Gazette (2716). London. 29 October 1875.
  11. "Railway Accident". The Times (28340). London. 12 June 1875. p. 13.
  12. "The Bathampton Railway Accident". The Times (28341). London. 14 June 1875. col F, p. 13.
  13. "Summary of this morning's news". The Pall Mall Gazette (3548). London. 3 July 1876.
  14. "Railway Accidents". The Times (28709). London. 16 August 1876. col C-D, p. 11.
  15. "The Storm". The Times (30647). London. 25 October 1882. col F, p. 10.
  16. "Great Western Railway" (PDF). Board of Trade. 27 August 1913. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  17. Ministry of Transport (28 December 1967). "Report on the Collision that occurred on 11th January 1967 at St. Anne's Park, Bristol" (PDF). Her Majestey's Stationery Office. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  18. "Report on the Derailment that occurred on 25 August 1974 at Dorchester West" (PDF). Railway Inspectorate, Department of the Environment. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 20 November 1975. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  19. Department of Transport (6 May 1988). "Report on the Collision that occurred on 24th March 1987 at Frome" (PDF). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  20. Vaughan, Adrian (2003) [2000]. Tracks to Disaster. Hersham: Ian Allan. pp. 10–11. ISBN 0 7110 2985 7.
  21. "Derailment of two locomotives at East Somerset Junction 10 November 2008" (PDF). Rail Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  22. "Train hits van on level crossing". BBC News Online. 13 November 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  23. "Train derails at Westbury causing rail delays". BBC News Online. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  24. "Weymouth rail services delayed by fire under train". BBC News Online. 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  25. "Somerset freight train derailment causes '48 hour blockage'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  26. "Wiltshire-Somerset train services restored after derailment". BBC News Online. Retrieved 25 March 2017.

Bibliography

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