Overview
- South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex announced Tuesday that a temporary timetable will begin on Monday 10 August on the West of England line between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids.
- Under the revised schedule trains will run every 30 minutes to Salisbury, hourly to Yeovil Junction and every other hour to Exeter St Davids, with some journeys extended by up to 24–27 minutes.
- Operators say record-breaking heat and low rainfall have dried clay embankments between Tisbury and Honiton, creating instability that requires safety-driven reduced speeds over a vulnerable 60-mile stretch.
- Capacity is sharply reduced because the affected section is mostly single-track with only six passing loops, so slower trains force fewer services and longer waits for crossing paths.
- Since last year SWR and Network Rail Wessex have monitored 30+ sites, laid 5,000 tonnes of ballast, carried out tamping, removed over 200 dead trees and begun work with the University of Southampton on longer-term resilience plans, while similar heat-related timetable changes have been announced elsewhere in the UK.