FIRST Great Western, the rail franchisee that operates trains between London Paddington and the West Country, is introducing a special timetable to minimise the effect of speed restrictions due to high temperatures across the region.
Network Rail, which is responsible for the railway infrastructure, has imposed a 90mph speed restriction between London Paddington and Wootton Bassett, and a further 60mph speed limit from Wootton Bassett to Patchway, near Bristol.
First Great Western will be running an hourly service between Paddington and South Wales. Services leaving Cardiff Central at 55 minutes past each hour and leaving London at 30 minutes past each hour will be cancelled.
Journeys between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington are likely to be extended by 20 minutes, and services to and from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset are likely to take 15 minutes longer than normal.
Edith Rodgers, First Great Western's interim customer services director, said: "This timetable will help provide greater certainty for customers."
The new timetable is available at www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk
Network Rail fears the high temperatures will result in rails warping and becoming unsafe at high speeds.
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