Wales v Georgia: Travel advice
Fans looking to travel to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium for this Saturday’s Wales v Georgia autumn international rugby are being urged to plan ahead and to travel early, with no trains running from Bristol.
Network Rail will continue to modernise the railway in Bristol in a third and final weekend of this November’s improvement works.
Before kick-off buses will run direct from Bristol Temple Meads and from Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central for rugby fans from 0800 until 1300. After the final whistle direct buses will run both to Bristol Temple Meads and to Bristol Parkway from outside Cardiff Central up until 1930.
Those travelling from further afield can expect their train services to be diverted around the affected area. Long distance services between South Wales and London Paddington will be diverted between Newport and Swindon, non-stop via Gloucester, and adding approximately 30 minutes to journey times.
Replacement buses will also operate between:
- Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway
- Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach
- Swindon, Bristol Parkway and Newport
- Bristol Parkway and Yate (Saturday only)
- Bristol Parkway and Gloucester (Sunday only)
The work includes the installation of Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) used to hold the wires for electrification, platform upgrades at Bristol Parkway station and improvements to the track layout.
Last month GWR launched new Intercity Express Train (IET) services between Bristol and London Paddington, each providing up to 24% more seats than the trains they replace. With the completion of electrification GWR will be able to run more frequent and quicker IET services towards London from early 2019.
Matthew Barnes, Regional Development Manager for Great Western Railway said:
“This upgrade work will help to relieve a bottleneck at Bristol Parkway, which is crucial to be able to provide more frequent services; and alongside electrification of the line, will help to deliver the full benefit of our new Intercity Express Trains.
“We would like to thank our customers in advance for their patience during this weekend and have provided a number of additional direct bus links to support this weekend’s rugby.”
Ross Liddell, project sponsor for Network Rail, said of the wider railway upgrade project:
“The upgrade of Bristol Parkway station is vital as we continue to deliver the benefits of our railway upgrade plan, with the new platform 1 available for use towards the end of this year.
“I’d like to thank residents living near to the railway and passengers for their continued support throughout the modernisation work which forms part of our Railway Upgrade Plan.”
For more details customers are advised to visit GWR.com/Bristol2017, and to use online journey planners for specific train times. Bristol Parkway station remains open throughout the work.
For more information on GWR’s new trains please click here.
Notes to editors
Great Western Railway (GWR) provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services. We help over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year - across South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England.
We’re currently seeing the biggest investment in the network since Brunel so we can offer more trains, more seats, and shorter, more frequent journeys and continue the network’s heritage of helping connect more businesses to new and prosperous markets. Through a series of initiatives we aim to be a good neighbour to the communities we serve and are committed to making a positive social impact in those regions. Learn how we're Building a Greater West at GWR.com. GWR is a FirstGroup company.