Railway line between Axminster and Exeter to close for two weeks for important upgrade work

Buses will replace trains between Axminster and Exeter St David's from Saturday 9 November to Friday 22 November whilst tracks are upgraded in the Honiton area.

During this two-week period, engineers will install a mile of new track through Honiton Tunnel, replacing the existing 50-year-old infrastructure. This upgrade includes the installation of new sleepers and ballast, ensuring a smoother and more reliable journey for passengers. The new rail is designed to millimetre precision and will be coated with a protective layer to resist corrosion to extend its lifespan.

During this closure, Network Rail will be completing several other essential tasks:

• Vegetation management: Cutting back vegetation growth that is encroaching on the path of trains and removing carefully selected dangerous, diseased and dying trees between Honiton and Pinhoe along with general track and drainage maintenance
• Improving track drainage: Enhancing water channelling away from the tunnel to reduce the likelihood of flooding.
• Track replacement: Replacing half a mile of track between Pinhoe and Feniton.
• Earthworks: Finishing off the stabilisation of the recent Cleave Embankment land slip.
• General track and drainage maintenance

Impacts to passenger services:

South Western Railway (SWR) will be running rail replacement bus services between Axminster and Exeter St Davids:

Weekdays:

• 1 per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Cranbrook and Exeter Central.
• 1 per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central.

Weekends:

• 1 per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton and Exeter Central.
• 1 per hour Axminster to Exeter St David’s – calling at Honiton, Feniton, Whimple, Cranbrook, Pinhoe and Exeter Central.

Mark Goodall, Wessex Route Director, said: “There is never a convenient time to close the railway for an extended duration so we’re sorry to any passengers disrupted by this closure and thank them in advance for their patience and understanding.

"The West of England Line is a critical route for connecting passengers from Devon to London, and vice versa, and this forthcoming work is really important for the continued safe and reliable running of train services.

“In particular, the track through Honiton Tunnel is now life expired and in need of replacing with new and more resilient track and while that is being completed our teams will be undertaking a number of other useful pieces of key maintenance and upgrades along the line to support us in running the best possible service we can when the line reopens on Saturday 23 November.”

Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director for South Western Railway, commented: “Customers travelling between Axminster and Exeter should check their journeys and allow extra time to complete them, as buses are replacing trains from Saturday 9 to Friday 22 November.

“Closing important parts of the railway for two weeks is never an easy decision because we know how inconvenient it can be for customers, but the closure will allow Network Rail to deliver significant improvements on this part of the West of England line.

“We thank customers for their patience as these essential improvements are carried out, which will boost performance for years to come and help avoid day-to-day disruption on this busy part of our network.”