Because of problems linked to the fuel used by its diesel trains, South Western Railway has introduced a temporary timetable on its West of England Line between Basingstoke, Salisbury, and Exeter St Davids, and between Southampton and Salisbury via Romsey, until further notice.

On Wednesday, 19th April, a small number of trains based at the railway’s Salisbury and Exeter depots began to report performance problems.

Yesterday, Thursday, 20th April, the problem was traced to the trains’ fuel, which prevented those trains from reaching their normal top speeds.

The issue is now under investigation, and until it is resolved, the trains affected have been taken out of service for inspection and maintenance. As a result, with fewer trains available, South Western Railway is unable to operate its usual number of services on the West of England Line, in the Romsey area, and other destinations west of Salisbury.

The revised timetable will see the following changes:

• Between Basingstoke and Salisbury, there will be one train per hour;
• Between Salisbury and Exeter St. David’s, there will be one train every two hours;
• Between Southampton Central and Salisbury via Romsey, there will be one train every two hours;
• There will be no trains to Westbury and Yeovil Pen Mill.

Anyone intending to travel on the affected routes should check their journey before travelling at
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/plan-my-journey/live-times-and-updates

Stuart Meek, SWR’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We’re very sorry for the disruption that will be felt by our customers on the West of England Line, in the Romsey area and other destinations west of Salisbury. Over the last two days, some services have suffered delays due to a fuel problem and so we have had no choice but to withdraw the affected trains.

“With fewer trains available and a risk of delays, which would have a knock-on effect on the wider network, we have had to make the difficult decision to operate an amended timetable. While we appreciate it is frustrating that fewer services will be operating, this timetable does give our customers a service they can have confidence in.

“We really appreciate our customers’ patience and advise them to check before travelling. We will provide an update when we know we can reinstate the usual timetable and run services as normal.”