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 and 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:

Operator

Passenger services on the route are operated by Great Western Railway and South Western Railway. Most Great Western services originate from Bristol Temple Meads or Westbury. Some originate from towns and cities beyond Bristol such as Gloucester, Cheltenham and Great Malvern. South Western Railway operate a limited service between London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction via Castle Cary. From summer 2016 there was also a "seaside special" service between Weymouth and Salisbury or Waterloo via Yeovil Junction, but this was withdrawn in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rolling stock

Services are typically operated with Class 165 and Class 166 "Networker Turbo" trains. These were introduced in the late 2010s after they were released from the Thames Valley during the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line, although Class 158s are still occasionally used. South Western Railway services are operated by Class 159s and sometimes Class 158s. Before the introduction of the Networker Turbo trains, the route was typically operated with Sprinter diesel multiple unit trains, typically of 2 or 3 coach Class 150, with some Class 158 trains. 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 authorities could support the line. In 2003 this was rebranded as the Heart of Wessex partnership and line. The TransWilts community rail partnership (CRP) gained accredited status under the Department for Transport's community rail programme which began in 2005. In 2021, although the line's branding remains the same, the responsibility for the line was divided among three CRPs: Severnside CRP from Bristol to Bradford on Avon, TransWilts CRP covering Trowbridge and Westbury in Wiltshire, and the newly created South Wessex CRP covering stations from Frome to Yeovil in Somerset and from Thornford to Weymouth in Dorset.

Accidents and incidents