Network Rail's £40 billion Railway Upgrade Plan is set to benefit hundreds of thousands of passengers and businesses in the south-west and Thames Valley.

Over the May bank holiday, £14.5 million of the company's budget is going to be spent on providing a bigger and more reliable railway for passengers and businesses on the Western route.

This is an extensive section of the overall work to be done by the company and it will see the installation of a new bridge in Royal Wootton Bassett, preparing Broad Town Road for electrification.

Broad Town Road will also be prepared for the arrival of a fleet of longer, faster, quieter trains that will run along the new line.

In a process known as piling, foundations are being built to accommodate the overhead electrification equipment that will be essential to powering the new trains at various locations across the south-west.

This particular programme of work will begin on 29th April and will be part of what Mark Langman, Network Rail's managing director, refers to as: "a key part of our Railway Upgrade Plan to meet surging demand and improve our congested railway network."