It has been revealed that more than half of the trains due to serve the Glastonbury Festival have been cancelled because of rail strikes. On one key day just five trains will be running, Great Western Railway has revealed.
Tens of thousands of revellers will be forced to find alternative routes to the site in Pilton, Somerset. Great Western Railway (GWR) said that it is operating just five services from London Paddington to Castle Cary on Thursday, with a total of 24 between Wednesday and Friday.
Before the industrial action was announced, 51 trains were expected to run on the route over the three-day period. GWR told passengers: “We plan to maintain timetabled trains between Castle Cary and London Paddington throughout the course of the Glastonbury Festival. Some services might be subject to alterations to train times and we will be in contact with customers who have already booked seats on board those trains.”
Read more: Glastonbury Festival 2022 traffic: Travel chaos predicted amid rail strikes
It added: “Other parts of the GWR network are likely to be more affected by the strike action and customers may need to consider alternative ways to travel to a station serving Castle Cary.”
Rail strikes are being held across Britain on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but their effects mean services will be disrupted from Monday night until the end of the week. Roads serving the Glastonbury Festival will be exceptionally busy, with motoring groups advising drivers to avoid the region if possible.
National Express, the official coach partner of the festival, will carry more than 30,000 music fans to and from the site but a spokeswoman warned of congestion in the surrounding area. “Demand for coach travel is high with a significant increase in both enquiries and bookings on our scheduled network on and around the dates of the strikes, including on routes that provide travel to Glastonbury,” she said.
“We are working hard to increase availability to meet additional demand where possible. Seats are selling fast, so the advice is to check services and book in advance. We do expect and are prepared to be busy but also recommend that customers allow plenty of time when planning their journey.”
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