Half of Glastonbury trains cancelled because of rail strikes

Steve Hopkins

Before the strikes were announced, 51 trains were expected to run the route – now only 24 will

Ten of thousands of Glastonbury revellers will be forced to find alternative routes to the festival, with more than half of trains due to serve the event being cancelled due to rail strikes.

The Somerset festival is finally celebrating its 50th year this week after the coronavirus pandemic forced organisers to cancel twice and more than 200,000 people are expected to travel to the site which opens on Wednesday.

Great Western Railway (GWR) is operating 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.

⚠️Due to industrial action there will be a very limited service this week

⚠️Only travel if necessary

⚠️If you travel expect severe disruption & plan ahead

👇See below for routes that WILL NOT OPERATE on strike days. Please check carefully

👉Info at https://t.co/xXlLvV31A8 pic.twitter.com/JArVsiiO5v

— GWR (@GWRHelp) June 19, 2022

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.”

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.

However, the impacts will be felt from Monday night until the end of the week.

Roads serving the Glastonbury Festival will be exceptionally busy, with motoring groups AA 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.

She told the BBC that there was a “significant increase” in both enquiries and bookings around the dates of the strikes, “including on routes that provide travel to Glastonbury”.

The spokesperson added: “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.”