Second day of rail disruption for 'urgent' repairs



Rail services are experiencing major disruption with journeys cancelled or suspended due to urgent repairs needed on a bridge on Sunday and into Monday.

The work near Cardiff Central station has affected a number of routes run by Great Western Railway, Transport for Wales and CrossCountry, according to National Rail.

Rail replacement transport is being organised between Newport and Cardiff Central, and Cardiff Central and Caerphilly.

"Major disruption is expected until the end of the day on Monday 21 April," said National Rail.  It said routes affected included:

* CrossCountry between Nottingham / Birmingham New Street / Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central

* Great Western Railway between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central, and also between Bristol Parkway and Swansea

* Transport for Wales between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay / Ebbw Vale Town / Pontypridd / Merthyr Tydfil / Aberdare / Treherbert, and between Barry Island and Caerphilly, and also between Penarth and Cardiff Queen Street

15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:59 will be started from Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Swindon.
It will be delayed at Chippenham and is expected to be 9 minutes late.
This is due to a passenger being taken ill on this train.

13:18 Hereford to London Paddington due 16:30.
This is due to overcrowding.
Service full and standing. First class is declassified.
Last Updated:21/04/2025 14:35

15:18 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington due 17:26 will be terminated at Oxford.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.
Last Updated:21/04/2025 16:19

How are you defining "better run"?

The DfT do seem to be picking on the better run operations first for transfers. If they keep that up next year, I suspect GWR will be one of those selected, personally speaking

35 and 49 mins I believe are in excess of the rules set up for reasonable connections,

Alterations to services between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Centra

Due to urgent repairs to a bridge between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central fewer trains are able to run on some lines.

Train services running through these stations may be revised. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice

Urgent repairs are required to a bridge in the Cardiff area.

As a result of this fewer train services will be able to operate through that area and owing to the reduction in the operational flexiblility there, those services which do operate may be subject to further delay and revision.

Train services that would normally operate between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central will operate to a reduced frequency in both directions.

The general pattern of service will be for those services which originate from / are destined for west country locations (Penzance / Plymouth / Exeter / Taunton / Weston-superMare) will operate though to / from South Wales but will terminate and start back from Newport. A change of train will be required to travel to / from Cardiff Central. Those services which originate from / are destined for Westbury / Salisbury / Southampton / Portsmouth will not operate between Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff Central.

GWR ticket holders may use Transport for Wales services in the area at no extra cost but do note that their services will also be affected by this incident.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause to your journey today.

Further Information

An update will follow within the next 2 hours.

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:21/04/2025 04:01

14:00 from Cardiff, 14:51 into Temple Meads

choice of
15:03 train towards Frome, 15:40 at Trowbridge or
15:23 train towards Portsmouth Harbour, 15:54 at Trowbridge

16:29 from Trowbridge to Melksham, arrives 16:38


Yes - but there was either 12 or 32 minutes available at Bristol Temple Meads, and the 49 or 35 minutes available at Trowbridge, so ...


No Chris, that is not my answer as to why there was nothing offered from Cardiff between 13:30 and 16:23. All four trains listed above are in the timetable, all four ran at least the part of the route I needed, and the connections offered were way in excess of minimum time. 

Agree 100% with eye test and re-test for driving.

Being in a car with my late Father driving when he was in his early 80s was often an experience where all concerned found themselves praying to whatever God they held dear!

* When a train is cancelled, the App should offer alternative which are still running and fits within the normal interchange criteria

The six West of England Combined Authority mayoral candidates (from left): Arron Banks, Steve Smith, Helen Godwin, Mary Page, Oli Henman and Ian Scott

Most of the candidates standing in the election to run the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) are calling for the franchising of buses.

That would mean turning the clock back on 40 years of private control.

If it happens, the new mayor would decide on routes, fares and timetables. But there are warnings that it could mean an increase to council tax bills.

It was 1986 when buses around Bristol and Bath were put into private hands. Over the following decades passenger numbers declined, and dropped sharply amid the Covid lockdowns.

The main operator, First Bus, says since then there has been progress. Passenger numbers have risen in the past two years, though are still below pre-pandemic levels.

Partly funded by Weca, it now runs more services on the most popular routes. But a shortage of council funding led to many subsidised services being cut.

May's election could herald big changes. Five of the six vying to be mayor favour franchising. That would see control of routes, fares and timetables taken out of the hands of private operators, and given to Weca.

Recent changes in the law have made it easier for mayors to do this. Manchester finished its move to franchising in January 2025. Liverpool, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire are also aiming to make the change. But it all comes with a warning: it will cost taxpayers.


Bus campaigner David Redgewell said the scheme could either be financed through taxes or higher fares

The transition would come with a price tag; there would also be yearly running costs.

"It's the right way to go, but we've got to have the finance to do it," cautions bus campaigner David Redgewell.  "There are only two ways to pay for it. One is through the taxpayer, and your local taxes and government grants, and the other way is through fares."

However, it is not just down to who wins on 1 May. Any such change would take time – several years in Manchester's case. And with set-up costs of tens of millions of pounds, it might be difficult at a time of such stretched budgets.

As the final phase of enhancements at Salisbury Railway Station progresses, a key milestone is coming up with plans to resurface the station forecourt area.

Works will be taking place overnight on the 22 -24 April 2025 (inclusive) to install additional drainage gullies immediately outside of the station building entrance. These works need to be completed prior to the proposed resurfacing works.

From 8pm on Friday 25 April to 4am Tuesday 29 April (24 hour working including both day and night working), the station forecourt will be closed to vehicular traffic from South Western Road. Pedestrian access to and from the railway station, South Western Road and the lower car park will remain available for the duration of the closure.

Drop off and pick up points will temporarily be located in the lower car park and visitors seeking to access the Stonehenge Tour buses should follow the signed route to their temporary location. Accessible parking bays will be available in the lower car park and be positioned as close as possible to the main station entrance. Access to / egress from the lower car park will be available for the duration of the closure via Churchfields Road only. Taxis will temporarily be relocated to South Western Road.

The station's cycle hub will remain accessible from Churchfields Road and Mill Road.

Railway customers will be able to use the new Fisherton Car Park located at the former East Goods Yard site. The car park will open to coincide with the road closure period for resurfacing works and will remain open for the foreseeable future.

To ensure smooth operations, four traffic marshals will be on duty from Friday 25 April until Tuesday 29 April. Three marshals will be stationed in the forecourt area and one will be positioned in Churchfields Road to manage pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

Parvis Khansari, Corporate Director Place, said: We apologise in advance for any inconvenience and disturbance caused by these works. This is anticipated to be the last time we will need to undertake 24 hour working during this project.

We would like to thank in particular the residents of Churchfields Road for their patience and continued co-operation in delivering this important scheme for Salisbury.

Once the Station Forecourt scheme is complete it will provide a more attractive, and welcoming environment for visitors and residents alike.

The Station Forecourt project forms part of the £9 million investment from the Future High Streets Fund.

It's that 9 minute connection you ackonwledged

... I caught the 14:00 Penzance train, changed (9 minutes) at Bristol Temple Meads, changed Chippenham (5 minute) and arrived Melksham 15:39