Heart of Wessex line upgrades
We’re making major improvements from Castle Cary to Weymouth
Since February 2020, we’ve been renewing key stretches of track, replacing bridges and carrying out essential maintenance at our stations.
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Recent line closure March 2025
What work took place?
During a 7-day closure in March we replaced 850 tonnes of ballast stone over a 250-metre stretch of track between Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill.
Our engineers worked on the line from Monday 10 to Sunday 16 March. During the closure replacement buses ran between Castle Cary and Yeovil Pen Mill on weekdays and from Castle Cary and Weymouth at the weekend.
Why is the work needed?
The ballast stone and sleepers in the area were at risk of flooding. Replacing the ballast with fresh stone is essential to help prevent track failures, delays and disruption to passengers.
Whilst the line was closed, we also completed essential track maintenance at Maiden Newton station and carried out vital repairs to signals at Yeovil Pen Mill station.
To reduce the risk of disruption to services our teams also removed a number of dead, diseased and dangerous trees in the Yeovil area.
Benefits
Our work over the last five years has been a serious investment to improve the reliability of the Heart of Wessex line. We will return in March 2026 to strengthen embankments and help reduce the risk of landslips near Evershot Tunnel.
Previous work
Contact us
For more information or to get in touch with us, please contact us by visiting our contact us page or by calling our 24-hour national helpline on 03457 11 41 41. Information can also be found on our twitter page @NetworkRailWssx