Somerset Council’s new bus service providing a rail link with Castle Cary station is due to launch on 3 August.
The new 567 service will be operated by the Council using a low-floor, accessible minibus.
It will run 7 days a week, including Sundays, alongside the 667 service, which already runs from Street to Castle Cary station.
The 567 will connect with trains to and from:
- London,
- Exeter,
- Plymouth,
- Paignton,
- Salisbury,
- Weymouth and
- Gloucester.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s lead member for transport and waste services, said:
We are delighted to be able to provide this trial service linking Glastonbury and Street to train services at Castle Cary. We’re grateful to our partners, GWR and Clarks Village, for their help in promoting the new route.
It will be good for Somerset businesses, including Clarks Village which is a popular destination for local people and visitors from further afield.
Hopefully it will prove popular, as it gives people the choice to leave their car at home and save money.
The route needs to be sustainable in the long term and well used, so we need people to make the most of it. Arrival and departure times at Castle Cary Station to and from London have been set to ensure there is a sufficient gap between bus and train arrivals and departures to support reliable connections.
Somerset Council is also introducing a return journey using the Somerton Slinky service from Somerton and Langport to link directly with a train departure from Castle Cary to London in the morning peak with a direct return journey in the evening peak back to Somerton and Langport. These journeys must be pre-booked by passengers through the Somerton Slinky Service.
During off-peak hours, passengers will be able to book the Somerton Slinky (subject to availability) to connect with the 567 at Keinton Mandeville for travel to and from Castle Cary station. This will provide the Langport and Somerton area with a link to the station.
Planning a journey in Somerset? Visit the Council’s Think Travel portal for all transport options.
