Hi
I need help again from the awesome UK transportation folks. This is a long shot but I was wondering if there is any alternative way to get from St. Erth to Cardiff that I should consider, or just accept that there is engineering work on Sunday 17, September and that we will be taking a bus from Weston-super-Mare to Temple Mead and arriving later than planned?
Katie
Funnily enough I have just been looking at this for another forum member (off line), and going round in ever decreasing circles.
At the moment we don't know. Currently Cross Country (who run part of the overall service between Plymouth and Bristol) only have timings in the system for Sundays until 17 August, on that route (later on other routes).
This is the first day of a week of engineering on the Taunton to Bristol direct line
However they are suggesting that they will run diverted trains via an alternative route (which can only be via Westbury and Bath, between Taunton and Bristol) which will apparently add up to 1 hour to journey times.
Whether you would get advance fares on those trains, or have to pay full fare is an unknown quantity. But if it adds an hour then it will take as long as the Great Western bus transfer from Weston, maybe longer.
You can either wait several weeks for Cross Country to produce their plans (and probably achieve nothing) or bite the bullet and book the Great Western via Weston, then bus to Bristol, then train forward from Bristol.
If you took the Cross Country diversion route you would have to change additionally at Plymouth from GWR onto XC.
Great Western are NOT diverting any trains so what you see is what you'll have- at least there are advance fares on that route.
Yes, unfortunately, whatever you do you will arrive later than planned.
Just to be complete there is a National Express Coach at 0830 from St Erth, change at Bristol Bus and Coach Station, arrives Cardiff at 1805. It goes on a scenic tour of Cornwall taking 4 hours to reach Plymouth, hence the long journey time, also an overnight coach at 2214, arrives Cardiff at 0745 next day.
Thanks so much, once again. We will just stick with the GWR route and have a bus ride in the middle.
Katie
By the way it now turns out that Cross Country are diverting trains, and that on many other trains GWR are allowing you to travel via Westbury.
So the 0823 is change at Taunton, Westbury and Swindon arrive 1435
0855 is the Weston bus, arrive 1441
0938 is one change at Bristol Parkway, arrive 1540
1028 is changes as the 0823, arrive 1635
1058 is the Weston bus, arrive 1641
1157 is the Weston bus, arrive 1743
1227 is changes at Taunton and Westbury, arrive 1841
and I doubt you are travelling later than that, but the point is there are valid alternatives depending on your booked train.
Thanks for the info!!
