Train services through Somerton resumed this morning after a week-long engineering project to upgrade drainage under the line.

Network Rail engineers began the work on Monday, 8 December, replacing nearly 600 metres of underground drainage and installing 14 new inspection chambers to ease future maintenance. The line reopened on schedule overnight.

Crews used more than 2,000 tonnes of fresh track material — including ballast and shingle — with two engineering trains, four road-rail vehicles, and a tamping train on site at various stages. Up to 25 people were working on track at any one time.

During the closure, rail replacement buses operated between Taunton and Castle Cary. Network Rail also took the opportunity to carry out additional maintenance along the route, including points adjustments, signal testing, and vegetation clearance

Jordan Welsby, GWR Station Manager for Castle Cary, added: "We hope our customers were not too heavily inconvenienced during this important upgrade… It's really important that these kinds of improvements are made to ensure the continued reliability of an important part of the railway."

Passengers can check for any future disruption via nationalrail.co.uk or GWR.com/upgrade.

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