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Severn Tunnel Closure - July 2024

Posted by on

The Severn Tunnel will be closed for engineering work for a good bit of July. This tunnel under the estuary links Bristol with south Wales. It will add around 50 minutes to journeys between London and south Wales with trains coming off the direct route at Swindon and heading on the south Cotswold Line to Gloucester and then down into south Wales and vice versa.

The bigger problem will be for those going between Bristol/Bath and south Wales (Newport, Cardiff and beyond).

Details:>https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering/bristol

Posted by
432 posts

Does this affect only trains, or do the National Express coaches use the tunnel as well?

Posted by
33628 posts

the Severn bore (intentional pun) is used only by trains. Road vehicles use one of the two bridges.

Posted by
2549 posts

As Nigel says, National Express use the bridge. The M4 bridge has 3 lanes each way whilst the M48 bridge has 2 lanes each way. Click this link and you will see a Google Map of the bridges - with traffic flows enabled - live at time of clicking. The main problem is the tunnel at Newport - where the M4 becomes 2 lanes each way on one of the busiest sections. This can lead to tailbacks which is one of the reasons why the trains normally provide a faster more reliable service.

BTW, the Severn Rail Tunnel was the world’s first undersea railway tunnel and is roughly under the M4 bridge.

Posted by
432 posts

Thankyou, Nigel and James. I shall be travelling on a National Express coach to
Newport on a Friday morning later in July. I'll make sure the person meeting me knows that delays are possible, partly perhaps as a result of increased traffic from people avoiding the train because of the Severn Tunnel closure.

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