A train will serve Bath Spa station every seven minutes on the three Saturdays of this year’s Bath Christmas Market, operator GWR has said.
A GWR train arriving at Bath Spa Railway Station | Photo © Colin Peachey / Shutterstock.com
GWR will operate 145 trains on market Saturdays, running an extra 21 trains stopping at Bath Spa to help shoppers get to and from the city.
Despite the almost 8,000 extra seats, trains are expected to be really busy between 9am and midday, and between 4pm and 7.30pm, and a queuing system will be in place at the station for the return journey to help those board trains safely.
To keep those queueing in high spirits, GWR has teamed up with the Bath Abbey Choir who will sing carols outside the station at 6pm on Friday 1st December.
The Bath Abbey Choir will then travel with GWR to perform at Paddington station on Monday 11th December.
Bath Spa Station Manager Oana Apetroaie said: “The Christmas Market transforms this great city into an enchanting winter wonderland which so many people want to visit, and we do all we can at GWR to help support that.
“As we welcome people to Bath, we would like to remind them that the station, and some trains, will be really busy for some periods and customers may experience a more comfortable journey travelling earlier in the morning or later in the evening – outside of the peak times.
“Our friendly and approachable staff will be on hand to help keep people moving, and this year I am delighted that we’ll also have the help of the Bath Abbey Choir on Friday 1st.”
Several rail services will also have extended dwell times at key locations and there will be slight alterations to normal timetabled services as a result; so please check before you travel.
The Aslef union has announced strike action that will significantly affect GWR and CrossCountry rail services on Thursday 7th December.
In addition, there could be further disruption from Friday 1st to Saturday 9th December, due to action which is likely to cause some short-notice alterations.
