Network Rail proposes more seats and faster journeys

More carriages are proposed on trains between Gloucester and Westbury

Improvements are being proposed to some First Great Western rail services in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The recommendations are part of Network Rail's Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) - a vision of planned work over the next decade.

More carriages are being promised on trains between Gloucester and Westbury to relieve peak time congestion.

Signalling improvements and the re-doubling of the Swindon to Kemble Line are proposed, to shorten journey times.

Speed increase

An additional platform at Westbury station is recommended to improve performance and capacity.

And five additional vehicles between Cardiff and Portsmouth are proposed to provide more seats for passengers from Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Westbury, Warminster and Salisbury.

Mavis Choong, from Network Rail, said there were also plans to increase the line speed between Gloucestershire stations and the Severn Tunnel junction.

"They will benefit from a more reliable service, especially as we're looking at improving the infrastructure on this line," she said.

The 30-year strategy will be put forward to the Department for Transport to help inform the planning for the industry's next funding period from 2014 to 2019.