Great Western Coffee Shop

Weymouth, Dorchester, Yeovil, Castle Cary and Frome

Description of line

Known as the Heart of Wessex Line , it runs from Bristol to Westbury to Weymouth. It diverges from the Wessex Main Line at Westbury , and follows the course of the Great Western Main Line as far as Castle Cary.

The stations served by this route are listed below :

Bristol Temple Meads - Keynsham - Oldfield Park -Bath - Freshford - Avoncliff - Bradford on Avon -Trowbridge - Westbury - Frome - Bruton - Castle Cary - Yeovil Pen Mill - Thornford - Yetminster - Chetnole - Maiden Newton - Dorchester - Upwey - Weymouth.


Service offered

8 services each way on Monday - Friday , 7 each way on Saturday and 3 each way on Sunday. Many journeys extend to Cardiff Central , and not all trains call at all stations. Some other services also terminate at Frome , which recently gained a direct service to / from London Paddington.


Peak flows


Known issues

Stakeholders aspire to a 2 - hourly service , which was originally planned under the new Greater Western Franchise , but was subsequently shelved.

(http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/pix/fgwocwe2.jpg)

I am delighted to welcome Rogerw as Data Manager for the Heart of Wessex board ... on which this base information is in need ... not so much of a fresh coat of paint but somewhat deeper attention!

With Heart of Wessex services sharing the route from Westbury into Bristol with Portsmouth-Cardiff trains, and with other local services to be enhanced ("soon" in terms of rail timescales) by additional MetroWest services, I have retuned the subject line for this board to clarify its concentration on services between Westbury and Weymouth rather than on the shared section.   This is very much in line with the way that Community Rail Partnerships are developing, with Severnside CRP now taking formal lead responsibility out as far as Bradford-on-Avon.