Bristol to Exeter line
34067Tangmere steaming under Devil's Bridge with aTorbay Express service
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Termini	Bristol Temple Meads Exeter St Davids
Service
Type	Suburban rail,Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Great Western Railway,CrossCountry
Rolling stock	Classes165,166,158,220/221 and800/802
History
Opened	1841–1842
Technical
Line length	75 mi 41 ch (121.5 km)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Operating speed	110 mph (177 km/h) maximum
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Bristol–Exeter line
Legend
mi-ch fromPaddington Great Western Main Line 118-02 Cross Country Route 118-12 Bristol Harbour Railway 118-31 Bristol Temple Meads 118-58 toSt 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 [a]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 [b]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 Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 149-05 Dunball Bridgwater Railway (S&DJR) 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

TheBristol to Exeter line is a major branch of theGreat Western Main Line in theWest of England and runs fromBristol, toExeter, from where it continues as theExeter to Plymouth line. It was one of the principal routes of the pre-1948Great Western Railway^[1] which were subsequently taken over by theWestern Region of British Railways and are now part of theNetwork Rail system.

The line was built by theBristol and Exeter Railway withIsambard Kingdom Brunel as the engineer. The section from Bristol toBridgwater was opened on 14 June 1841 and it was completed toTaunton on 1 July 1842. It was initially operated by theGreat Western Railway (GWR) as an extension of their line fromLondon Paddington and formed part of the7 ft (2,134 mm)broad gauge trunk route toPenzance on which through trains were run from 1867, but in the same year the section betweenHighbridge andDurston was reconstructed as amixed gauge line to accommodate local4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) gauge traffic. The remainder of the line was laid with mixed gauge by 1 June 1875 and broad gauge trains ceased operation on 20 May 1892.^[2]

The Bristol and Exeter Railway took over its own operations from 1 May 1849 butamalgamated with the GWR on 1 January 1876.

On 1 July 1906 theLangport and Castle Cary Railway line was opened which enabled London to Taunton trains to run on a shorter route instead of the "Great Way Round" through Bristol.

The Great Western Railway wasnationalised on 1 January 1948 into theWestern Region of British Railways.

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended consideringelectrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000.^[3] Some included electrifying the Bristol to Exeter line,Exeter to Plymouth Line,Riviera Line andCornish Main Line.^[4] Under the1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the1976–79 Labour government the proposal was not implemented. At present, there are no plans to electrify the line or any other lines mentioned, although locals are campaigning for electrification of the line from Bristol to Weston-Super-Mare.

The Bristol to Taunton Line is now part of Route 13 of theNetwork Rail system.

Communities served:Bristol (including the suburb ofBedminster) –Nailsea andBackwell –Yatton –Weston-super-Mare (including the suburb ofWorle)

On leaving Bristol Temple Meads the line passes through suburbanBedminster andParson 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, thePortbury branch line diverges on the right.

The line climbs westwards up pastLong Ashton village and under theA370 road to enter a cutting withFlax Bourton tunnel at the summit. The remains ofFlax Bourton railway station^[6] are near the tunnel. The line descends toNailsea and Backwell railway station, which is on a road bridge betweenBackwell on the left andNailsea over the low hill on the right. It then continues past the isolated church atChelvey (left) toYatton railway station. This was once a busy junction station with branches toClevedon (right)^[7] andWells (left); the latter is now a footpath and cycleway as far asCheddar.^[8]

Beyond Yatton the line runs across the low-lying North Marsh withlevel crossings at Hewish andPuxton and Worle, where an oldsignal box is retained to supervise the two level crossings. The line passes beneath theM5 motorway approaching Puxton and then comes toWorle railway station on the outskirts ofWeston-super-Mare. A short distance beyond the station is Worle Junction where a single-track branch diverges to the right to serveWeston Milton andWeston-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 andBurnham-on-Sea –Bridgwater –Taunton

The line has now swung round to head south. AtUphill there is a short, deep cutting crossed by a high brick bridge built by Brunel, known locally as "Devil's Bridge". The bridge is Grade II listed.^[9] Beyond this lie the remains ofBleadon and Uphill railway station^[6] (right). Passing across theSomerset Levels the line comes to the site ofBrent Knoll railway station with the isolated hill that it was named for close by on the left. The next open station isHighbridge and Burnham; this is inHighbridge but also serves co-joinedBurnham-on-Sea. TheSomerset 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 toBridgwater where the goods yard is used for waste traffic fromHinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station. Beyond the station, on the right, used to be the carriage works of the Bristol and Exeter Railway^[10] but the site is now lost beneath modern industrial units. The line now crosses over theRiver Parrett on the Somerset Bridge and then passes below the M5 again.

TheBridgwater and Taunton Canal now joins on the right for most of the way toTaunton. AtDurston the formerYeovil branch line joins from the left.^[2] A short cutting brings the line toCogload Junction; the line towards Taunton climbs up here and crosses above theReading to Taunton Line which it then joins to complete the journey to Taunton, passingCreech St Michael and the former junction of theChard branch line on the left. The final run into Taunton sees theRiver Tone appear alongside on left and the canal passes beneath the line to join the river at Firepool, behind the site of the former goods yard on the same side.^[2]

Communities served:Taunton –Tiverton andWilland –Exeter

The line leaves Taunton and passes the engineer's depot atFairwater Yard on the same side. The formerNorton Fitzwarren railway station is the location of two serious collisions and a fatal train fire. TheWest Somerset Railway diverges on the right and work is under way to provide new facilities here for thisheritage railway which includes relaying track for a short distance along the oldDevon 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 theGrand Western Canal.

After passing over Victory Crossing atBradford-on-Tone, the line starts to climb upwards. It passes through the remains ofWellington station and then under theA38 road atBeambridge, which was the site of the line's terminus while work was underway to excavate the Whiteball Tunnel at the top ofWellington Bank.^[11] It was coming down here thatCity of Truro became the first locomotive to exceed 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).^[12]

Through the tunnel and intoDevon, the M5 motorway comes alongside on the left and the line arrives atTiverton Parkway, the railhead for much of north Devon via theA361 road that joins the motorway next to the station. A short distance further is Tiverton Loops, the site of the formerTiverton Junction railway station.

The motorway service station on the left marks the site ofCullompton railway station, and then the line passes the remains ofHele and Bradninch andSilverton stations. AtStoke Canon the oldExe Valley Railway used to join from the right, and then the railway sweeps through the valley of theRiver Culm to where it joins theRiver Exe nearCowley Bridge Junction. Here theTarka Line fromBarnstaple joins on the right and the line then passes (on the same side) Riverside Yard and an oldtranshipment shed. Until 20 May 1892, when the then GWR lines were converted from the7 ft (2,134 mm)broad gauge, the shed was used to transfer goods between broad gauge wagons and the4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge wagons used by theLondon and South Western Railway to Yeovil and Barnstaple.^[13] Passing over the wide Red Cowlevel crossing, the line comes toExeter St Davids railway station.

All stations on the route are served byGreat Western Railway. Local trains generally operate betweenCardiff Central andTaunton (calling at all stations betweenBristol Temple Meads and Taunton exceptBedminster andParson Street) and fromBristol Parkway toWeston-super-Mare (calling at all stations from Temple Meads) combining to give a half-hourly service between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare throughout much of the day.^[14] Through trains to and fromLondon Paddington are also operated via Bristol to Weston-super-Mare and Taunton,^[15] and direct from London viaWestbury to Taunton and Exeter. Some services from Cardiff and many from London continue beyond Exeter towardsPlymouth andPenzance.^[16] Local trains are mostly formed from a mix ofClass 165 and166DMUs. London services are operated by usingClass 800 and802 trains.

The other operator on the route isCrossCountry, which provides trains betweenScotland and north-east England andPaignton,Plymouth orPenzance.^[17] Trains are mostly formed ofClass 220 and221 units, working either singly or in pairs.

Parts of this article (those related to Weston-super-Mare branch line) need to beupdated. Please help update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2011)

The route has a line speed limit of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with local variations, the main one being the 110 mph from approx. Bleadon (138-44) to Huntspill (147-00); trains from Bristol to Taunton are described as travelling in the 'down' direction. It is constructed to Route Availability 8 and freight loading gauge W8. It has Multiple Aspect Signals (MAS) and Track Circuit Block (TCB) controlled from the panelsignal box at Bristol. A local signal box atPuxton and Worle controls the twolevel crossings at Hewish and Puxton, and an emergency panel atWeston-super-Mare can take control of the section from Hewish to Uphill Junction if required.

The21st Century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line has included electrification of the main line from London toBristol Parkway however this is not planned to be extended onto the Bristol to Exeter line.^[18] Trains are now a hybrid of diesel and electric power (Bimodes) which can run on non electrified routes south of Bristol.

TheWeston-super-Mare/Yate corridor is one of the main axes of the proposedGreater Bristol Metro, which aims to enhance transport capacity in the Bristol area.^[19][20]

There have also been calls for adedicated railway line toBristol Airport, branching off from the main line somewhere nearFlax Bourton.^[21]

• Disused railway stations (Bristol to Exeter Line)
• Disused railway stations (Exeter to Plymouth Line)
• 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBristol to Exeter Line.

• Avon County Planning Department (1983).Railways in Avon, a short history of their development and decline 1832 - 1982. Bristol: Avon County Planning Department.ISBN 0-860631-84-2.
• Beck, Keith; Copsey, John (1990).The Great Western in South Devon. Didcot: Wild Swan Publications.ISBN 0-906867-90-8.
• Central Publicity Unit (Winter 1979).Railway Electrification.British Railways Board. pp. 0–2, 8.
• Conolly, W. Philip (1967).British Railways Pre-grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Shepperton:Ian Allan Publishing.ISBN 0-711003-20-3.
• Cooke, R.A. (1979).Section 16: West Somerset. Track Layout Diagrams of the GWR and BR WR. Harwell: R.A. Cooke. pp. not cited.
• Great Western Railway (1924).Number 1 — Paddington to Penzance. Through the Window. London: Great Western Railway. pp. not cited.
• Hesp, Martin (7 July 2008)."My magnificent rail journey".Western Morning News. Archived fromthe original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved14 July 2008.

• Railway lines in South West England
• Rail transport in Bristol
• Rail transport in Devon
• Rail transport in Somerset
• Railway lines opened in 1842
• Transport in Exeter
• 1842 establishments in England

• CS1: long volume value
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2016
• Use British English from December 2016
• Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2011
• All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
• Rail transport articles in need of updating
• Commons category link is on Wikidata