Forget signal failures, a shortage of drivers or leaves on the line – a new problem is about to hit long-suffering rail passengers: a lack of rain.
Train services between London and the West Country are being cut because of track problems caused by hot, dry weather.
South Western Railway will halve the number of trains it runs between Waterloo and Exeter St Davids from Monday August 11 until further notice.
It said that “soil moisture deficit” in clay soil embankments had disturbed track levels, meaning trains have to be restricted to 40mph for safety reasons, rather than the usual 85mph.
This means that trains will depart Waterloo every two hours rather than every hour. This will also impact passnegers who take the Exeter train to reach intermediate stations such as Clapham Junction, Woking and Basingstoke.
In addition, the full journey between Waterloo and Exeter St Davids – which normally takes about three hours 20 minutes - will take about an hour extra.
In addition, South Western Railway services between Waterloo and Yeovil Junction, which run hourly, will take an additional 25 minutes.
Londoners heading to Exeter will be able to compete the journey much more quickly by switching to Great Western Railway services from Paddington, with its quickest trains taking just over two hours.
According to the Met Office, spring 2025 was the UK’s warmest and sunniest since 1910 and saw the least amount of rain since 1976.
The extremely dry conditions have removed moisture in clay soil embankments between Gillingham in Dorset and Axminster in Devon, causing them to shrink.
Track that sits above these embankments has been disturbed, so speed restrictions are being imposed for safety reasons.
Most of the route west of Salisbury is made of single track, with only a small number of places for trains travelling in opposite directions to pass each other.
With speed restrictions stretching over 12 miles, trains will not be able to pass each other at their allotted times, meaning it will not be possible to run services to the normal timetable.
Dry conditions are set to continue, so it is possible that further speed restrictions will be required.
Attempting to stabilise the track now would only provide a short-lived fix, as the soil continues to move, according to South Western Railway and Network Rail.
They said that once soil moisture levels improve, and the ground begins to rehydrate and settle, engineers will carry out lasting repairs to stabilise the embankments, allowing the normal timetable to return.
Stuart Meek, South Western Railway’s chief operating officer, said: “We have not taken this decision lightly and we recognise the impact that it will have on customers west of Yeovil in particular. However, to continue operating a safe and reliable service, we have no alternative but to introduce a reduced timetable.
“We always aim to minimise disruption and so, together with our colleagues at Network Rail, we will carefully monitor train performance and work hard to give customers a service that they can rely on.
“We encourage customers to plan ahead via our website and allow extra time to complete their journeys.”
Tom Desmond, Operations Director for Network Rail, said: “The safety of our customers is our number one priority, which is why we must impose these speed restrictions between Gillingham and Axminster.
“We want to give customers the longest notice possible of timetable changes, and following a comprehensive analysis of ground and track conditions, we know that we must make changes in the next two weeks.
“We have worked closely with our colleagues at South Western Railway to understand the impact of the speed restrictions, and we will regularly review conditions in order to restore the normal timetable as soon as possible.”
