Bristol–Exeter line

The Bristol to Taunton section is a main line linking the Great Western Main Line at Bristol Temple Meads to the Reading to Taunton Line at Taunton, Somerset. Passenger services are operated by Great Western Railway and CrossCountry.

Bristol–Exeter line
miles-chains from Paddington Great Western main line 118-02 Cross Country Route 118-12 Bristol Harbour Railway 118-31 Bristol Temple Meads 118-58 to St Philip's Marsh T&RSMD 119-22 Bedminster 120-16 Parson Street 120-26 Parson Street Junction 120-47 Portishead Railway West Depot 120-68 West Depot Junction 122-03 Long Ashton [lower-alpha 1]124-21 Flax Bourton 126-34 Nailsea and Backwell 130-28 Yatton 130-30 Clevedon branch line Cheddar Valley line 133-75 Puxton 134-42 Worle (1990– ) 135-12 Worle Junction 135-22 Worle (1884–1922) 136-09 Weston Milton 136-90 Weston Junction (1850–1884) 136-60 Weston Junction 137-41 Weston-super-Mare Locking Road 137-35 Weston-super-Mare (1884– ) 137-69 Weston-super-Mare (1841–1884) 0 138-04 [lower-alpha 2]139-05 Uphill Junction 138-49 Bleadon and Uphill 140-51 Brean Road 142-43 Brent Knoll 145-20 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 145-23 Highbridge and Burnham 149-05 Dunball Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 151-47 Bridgwater 155-24 Yeovil branch 157-29 Durston Reading–Taunton line 155-24 Cogload Junction 160-25 Creech St Michael Halt Chard branch line 155-24 Creech Junction 163-11 Taunton 165-08 Norton Fitzwarren 165-13 West Somerset Railway 165-19 Devon and Somerset Railway 170-21 Wellington 171-70 Beam Bridge 174-58 Burlescombe 177-28 Tiverton Parkway Culm Valley Light Railway 179-10 Tiverton Junction Tiverton branch line 181-26 Cullompton 185-43 Hele and Bradninch 186-61 Silverton 188-75 Stoke Canon (first station) 190-36 Exe Valley Railway 190-42 Stoke Canon (second station) Tarka Line 192-53 Cowley Bridge Junction 193-27 Riverside Yard 193-72 Exeter St Davids 194-00 West of England line Exeter–Plymouth line
Moved from 124-0 in 1893 via Weston-super-Mare

Communities served: Bristol (including the suburb of Bedminster) – Nailsea – Backwell – Yatton – Weston-super-Mare (including the suburb of Worle)

On leaving Bristol Temple Meads the line passes through suburban Bedminster and Parson Street railway stations.[5] This section of the route has three tracks and, as far as Bedminster, the centre track is reversible to give some flexibility for regulating trains in the Temple Meads area. After passing through a short, deep cutting at Parson Street, the Portbury branch line diverges on the right.

The line climbs westwards up past Long Ashton village and under the A370 road to enter a cutting with Flax Bourton tunnel at the summit. The remains of Flax Bourton railway station[6] are near the tunnel. The line descends to Nailsea and Backwell railway station, which is on a road bridge between Backwell on the left and Nailsea over the low hill on the right. It then continues past the isolated church at Chelvey (left) to Yatton railway station. This was once a busy junction station with branches to Clevedon (right)[7] and Wells (left); the latter is now a footpath and cycleway as far as Cheddar.[8]

Beyond Yatton the line runs across the low-lying North Marsh with level crossings at Hewish and Puxton and Worle, where an old signal box is retained to supervise the two level crossings. The line passes beneath the M5 motorway approaching Puxton and then comes to Worle railway station on the outskirts of Weston-super-Mare. A short distance beyond the station is Worle Junction where a single-track branch diverges to the right to serve Weston Milton and Weston-super-Mare railway stations.[6] There is a crossing loop at Weston-super-Mare, beyond which the single track continues to rejoin the main line at Uphill Junction.

Communities served

Weston-super-Mare – Highbridge – Burnham-on-Sea – Bridgwater – Taunton

The line has now swung round to head south. At Uphill there is a short, deep cutting crossed by a high brick bridge built by Brunel, known locally as "Devil's Bridge". Beyond this lie the remains of Bleadon and Uphill railway station[6] (right). Passing across the Somerset Levels the line comes to the site of Brent Knoll railway station with the isolated hill that it was named for close by on the left. The next open station is Highbridge and Burnham; this is in Highbridge but also serves co-joined Burnham-on-Sea. The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway used to cross the line on the level just north of the station; their locomotive works were on the site of the industrial units visible to the left as the line passes through the station.

More level ground brings the line to Bridgwater with the only operational goods yard on the whole line, which is mainly used for waste traffic from Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station. Beyond the station, on the right, used to be the carriage works of the Bristol and Exeter Railway[9] but the site is now lost beneath modern industrial units. The line now crosses over the River Parrett on the Somerset Bridge and then passes below the M5 again.

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal now joins on the right for most of the way to Taunton. At Durston the former Yeovil branch line joins from the left.[2] A short cutting brings the line to Cogload Junction; the line towards Taunton climbs up here and crosses above the Reading to Taunton Line which it then joins to complete the journey to Taunton, passing Creech St Michael and the former junction of the Chard branch line on the left. The final run into Taunton sees the River Tone appear alongside on left and the canal passes beneath line to join the river at Firepool, behind the site of the former goods yard on the same side.[2]

Communities served

Taunton – Tiverton and Willand – Exeter

The line leaves Taunton with the abandoned engine shed on the left, and passes the engineer's depot at Fairwater Yard on the same side. The former Norton Fitzwarren railway station is the location of two serious collisions and a fatal train fire. The West Somerset Railway diverges on the right and work is under way to provide new facilities here for this heritage railway which includes relaying track for a short distance along the old Devon and Somerset Railway that formed a third route in between the main line and the West Somerset. On the left of the line an embankment marks the remains of the Grand Western Canal.

After passing over Victory Crossing at Bradford-on-Tone, the line starts to climb upwards. It passes through the remains of Wellington station and then under the A38 road at Beambridge, which was the site of the line's terminus while work was underway to excavate the Whiteball Tunnel at the top of Wellington Bank.[10] It was coming down here that City of Truro became the first locomotive to exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[11]

Through the tunnel and into Devon, the M5 motorway comes alongside on the left and the line arrives at Tiverton Parkway, the railhead for much of north Devon via the A361 road that joins the motorway next to the station. A short distance further is Tiverton Loops, the site of the former Tiverton Junction railway station.

The motorway service station on the left marks the site of Cullompton railway station, and then the line passes the remains of Hele and Bradninch and Silverton stations. At Stoke Canon the old Exe Valley Railway used to join from the right, and then the railway sweeps through the valley of the River Culm to where it joins the River Exe near Cowley Bridge Junction. Here the Tarka Line from Barnstaple joins on the right and the line then passes (on the same side) Riverside Yard and an old transhipment shed. Until 20 May 1892, when the then GWR lines were converted from the 7 ft (2,134 mm) broad gauge, the shed was used to transfer goods between broad gauge wagons and the 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge wagons used by the London and South Western Railway to Yeovil and Barnstaple.[12] Passing over the wide Red Cow level crossing, the line comes to Exeter St Davids railway station.