Reading–Taunton line

Communities served

Reading–Theale–Aldermaston–Midgham and Woolhampton–Thatcham–Newbury–Kintbury–Hungerford–Great Bedwyn

After Reading railway station the line curves to the left to follow the route of the old Berks and Hants Railway.[3] The Great Western Main Line is on the right and between the two routes is the former Reading TMD, now an engineering depot.

Just beyond the depot lies Reading West, a local station that is elevated above a road at one end but is in a deep cutting at the other. At the far end of the cutting is Southcote Junction where the line to Plymouth curves sharply to the right away from the other Berks and Hants Line to Basingstoke. A third line used to curve to the left to a goods depot but this is long closed and the trackbed blocked by a footpath.

The route, which is marketed as the "Kennet Line", follows the River Kennet through the outer suburbs of Reading to Theale. The line passes through Berkshire countryside and local stations at Aldermaston, Midgham and Thatcham.

Newbury race course lies alongside the line on the left and has its own station a short distance east of the main Newbury railway station, where the town centre is close by on the right of the line. The station has a bay platform on the right for local terminating trains, and the through platforms are on loop lines that allow fast trains to overtake the local services that continue beyond the town. Some long-distance trains also call here.[7]

Beyond Newbury the railway follows the route of the Kennet and Avon Canal which crosses below to run on the left side of the line through Kintbury then crosses back to the right before it reaches Hungerford. The line crosses into Wiltshire and the canal crosses back to the left to run close beside the line through Little Bedwyn to reach Bedwyn railway station which is actually in Great Bedwyn. This is the outer limit of the London suburban services[8] and there is a turn-back siding on the right just beyond the station.

Communities served

Pewsey–Westbury–Frome–Bruton–Castle Cary–Taunton

Long-distance trains continue to follow the Kennet and Avon Canal which runs along the line. Beam engines are preserved at Crofton Pumping Station that once pumped water to the summit level of the canal. The canal goes beneath the line in a 500 yards (457 m) tunnel[2] beneath the site of the closed Savernake Low Level railway station, and the remains of the bridge that carried the Midland and South Western Junction Railway. There was never a station at Burbage but the siding served a wharf which allowed transhipment of goods between the canal and railway.

Some trains call at Pewsey railway station, where one platform building is a replica of an earlier building but the building on the main platform is original. The site of Patney and Chirton railway station marks the start of a cut-off line that avoided the long loop (to the right) through Devizes railway station on the Berks and Hants Extension Railway.

A westbound service from London passing Westbury with the Westbury White Horse in the background

Approaching Westbury, non-stop trains curve to the left to pass under the Wessex Main Line and avoid the complex of junctions around the station, but trains that call here diverge to the right at Heywood Road Junction. Another line curves sharply to the right to join the Wessex Main Line towards Trowbridge at Hawkeridge Junction, a route that forms a diversionary route for the Great Western Main Line. The line curves left past the Panel Signal Box to join the Wessex Main Line in the opposite direction and enter the station.

There are sidings on both sides of the line west of the station. On the right are those used for stabling the local DMUs between services, and a Network Rail distribution centre for ballast. The sidings on the left are mainly used by stone trains from Mendips quarries further west along the line. Our line diverges right from the Wessex Main Line (which continues towards Salisbury) and curves around behind the virtual quarry to reach Fairwood Junction where trains that avoided the station rejoin the historic route, which here was constructed by the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway.

Crossing from Wiltshire into Somerset, the line passes through Clink Road Junction, where a branch line diverges on the right to Frome railway station, where a rare wooden train shed survives,[9] and Whatley Quarry. Frome is served by Heart of Wessex Line local services[10] but few long-distance trains call there[10] instead of following the avoiding line to Blatchbridge Junction.

The next junction on the right is at Witham, where the old East Somerset Railway carries stone trains from Merehead Quarry and continues to Cranmore. After passing through Bruton railway station, the line passes the remains of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Cole, and then arrives at the junction station at Castle Cary. Here it curves right, away from the Heart of Wessex Line which continues to Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill, a diversionary route that is used when the usual route to Exeter is blocked.

The main line is now on the Langport and Castle Cary Railway that opened on 2 July 1906 to shorten the so-called "Great Way Round" via Bristol.[2][4] After passing through Somerton Tunnel the line soon finds itself crossing the low-lying and comes onto the Somerset Levels and on to Langport and Curry Rivel Junction, where the old Yeovil branch line.[4] used to join from the left, only to diverge right at Athelney to join the Bristol to Taunton Line at Durston. The 1906 openings saw an additional cut-off from Athelney to Cogload Junction where the line joins the route from Bristol, the old Bristol and Exeter Railway.[4] The Taunton and Bridgwater Canal runs alongside the railway. The line passes the site of Creech St Michael railway station and the junction of the former Chard Branch Line.[4]

The Network Rail Business Plan (2007) says the heaviest traffic flows are on the section through Newbury, from where there is large commuter traffic to London. The main pinch-point is between Reading West and Southcote Junction where the route is shared with trains to and from Basingstoke and south-coast ports. It was forecast in the report that demand for journeys towards London can be met up to 2016 by increased service levels; three trains each hour will be needed to the west of England. By 2026 seating demand was forecast to be in excess of capacity from as far west as Westbury, and by as much as 14%.[11]

Plans for the route included making the down loop at Newbury Racecourse reversible to improve train handling on race days; the extension of the turnback siding at Bedwyn to accommodate six-car DMUs; increase line speed as far as Cogload Junction; a third track from there and direct access to the northern bay platform at Taunton.[11]

The section between Reading and Newbury was earmarked for electrification as part of a scheme to electrify the Great Western Main Line, to allow commuter services to use electrically powered trains to run the entire distance from London Paddington to Newbury. A 2009 DfT white paper called for electric services beyond Reading to be operated by cascaded and completely modernised Class 387 commuter trains from the end of 2018. This would allow the existing DMUs that operate on this section to be cascaded to the Bristol area, the South West and Northern England.[14] Electrification from Reading to Newbury was completed in January 2019.[15]

As part of this work, changes were made to the layout of Reading station which included the building of a bridge to carry the main lines of the Reading to Didcot route over the Plymouth to Reading line to remove conflicts between the two routes. An additional four platforms were built on the north side of Reading station for the relief lines, allowing the existing platforms to be used mostly by fast trains between London and the West.[16][17] The improved station was officially opened by the Queen in July 2014, and railway upgrades in the area were completed in the summer of 2015.[18][19]