On 1 July 1906 the Langport and Castle Cary Railway line was opened which enabled London to Taunton trains to run on a shorter route instead of the "Great Way Round" through Bristol.

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000.

Communities served: Bristol (including the suburb of Bedminster) – Nailsea and Backwell – Yatton – Weston-super-Mare (including the suburb of Worle) On leaving Bristol Temple Meads the line passes through suburban Bedminster and Parson Street railway stations.

The line climbs westwards up past Long Ashton village and under the A370 road to enter a cutting with Flax Bourton tunnel at the summit.

The line passes beneath the M5 motorway approaching Puxton and then comes to Worle railway station on the outskirts of Weston-super-Mare.

[6] There is a crossing loop at Weston-super-Mare, beyond which the single track continues to rejoin the main line at Uphill Junction.

Communities served: Weston-super-Mare – Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea – Bridgwater – Taunton The line has now swung round to head south.

Passing across the Somerset Levels the line comes to the site of Brent Knoll railway station with the isolated hill that it was named for close by on the left.

More level ground brings the line to Bridgwater where the goods yard is used for waste traffic from Hinkley Point B Nuclear Power Station.

Beyond the station, on the right, used to be the carriage works of the Bristol and Exeter Railway[10] but the site is now lost beneath modern industrial units.

[13] Passing over the wide Red Cow level crossing, the line comes to Exeter St Davids railway station.

The other operator on the route is CrossCountry, which provides trains between Scotland and north-east England and Paignton, Plymouth or Penzance.

The route has a line speed limit of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) with local variations, the main one being the 110 mph from approx.

[18] Trains are now a hybrid of diesel and electric power (Bimodes) which can run on non electrified routes south of Bristol.