Train passengers face major disruption as key line to shut for more than two weeks

There could be chaos around the corner for anyone wanting to commute between south Wales and Bristol as train services are set to be hugely disrupted for more than two weeks in July. Great Western Railway (GWR) has revealed that no direct trains will travel between south Wales and Bristol for a large period of next month due to “track renewal and essential drainage work”.

While GWR services will run as normal between Pembroke Dock and Newport, all services via the Severn Tunnel will be impacted with trains between south Wales and London being diverted via Gloucester and not stopping at Bristol Parkway at all. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.

The disruption will take place between Wednesday, July 3, and Thursday, July 18, and then again across the weekend of July 27 and 28. There will be limited replacement buses between Bristol Parkway and Newport, but only on Sundays. For anyone wanting to get to Bristol Parkway by train from south Wales, they will have to travel north past Gloucester before heading back south and then west towards Bristol.

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A spokesperson for GWR said: "Track renewal and essential drainage work will affect all train services via the Severn Tunnel with no direct trains between Bristol and South Wales. Trains between London and South Wales will be diverted via Gloucester and as a result these services won’t stop at Bristol Parkway. A limited number of trains will be running between Bristol Parkway and London Paddington in the morning and the evening only.

"Trains will run between Bristol Parkway and Portsmouth Harbour via Bristol Temple Meads, plus between Bristol Temple Meads and Taunton, Plymouth or Penzance. Other train services will still be running between Bristol Temple Meads or Bristol Parkway and Gloucester - change at Gloucester for trains to South Wales. Transport for Wales and CrossCountry train services to/from South Wales via Gloucester or Cheltenham Spa are unaffected by the Severn Tunnel closure."

GWR added that further rail improvement work will affect the same route on the weekend of August 24/25.