Heart of Wessex line reopens between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth
Network Rail have thanked travellers for their patience as they worked to complete reliability improvements on the network
Network Rail has thanked customers and local residents for their patience following a five-day closure on the rail line between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth.
It's as engineers have been working to complete 'key upgrades' on the Heart of Wessex line, which meant rail replacement buses were operating last week on GWR services.
During the five days the railway was closed - between October 16 and 20 - Network Rail’s team of engineers worked 'around the clock' to replace 758 metres of outdated 1950s track between Maiden Newton and Chetnole in Cattistock.
The old-style track needed to be renewed and brought up to modern standards to help reduce the number of speed restrictions that are put in place during warmer weather.
This latest work follows upgrades completed earlier this year between February and March between Castle Cary/Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth.
They also took advantage of the line being fully closed, working on:
- Erecting scaffolding at Evershot tunnel to repair and repoint the brickwork
- Renewing over 1,800 metres of track through Thornford station and replacing old wooden sleepers with new, more durable concrete sleepers
- Refurbishing Maiden Newton station including repairing the canopies and giving the station building a fresh lick of paint
- Installing new tactile paving at Yeovil Pen Mill station
- Clearing overgrown vegetation and completing maintenance on key pieces of railway infrastructure along the line
Oliver Frost, Network Rail project director, said: “I’d like to thank customers and local residents for their patience and understanding last week while we closed the railway between Yeovil Pen Mill and Weymouth to allow our engineers to complete a range of key upgrades to the Heart of Wessex line.
“We know how important this stretch of railway is and last week’s upgrades are the latest efforts in a three-year period in which we’ve invested a significant amount to bring smoother and more reliable journeys for our customers travelling between Somerset and Dorset
“We recognise many customers will have been disrupted during last week’s extended closure for which we’re sorry. However, these slightly longer closures enable us to really maximise the opportunity to complete a wide range of upgrades in a more cost-effective way while reducing the need for the need for regular, smaller closures of the railway which would be more disruptive to customers.”