A RAILWAY line between Dorset and Somerset is shut this week due to vital repairs.

The line between Dorchester West and Castle Cary is closed for five days from Monday, February 15 until Friday, February 19, with replacement buses in place between the two stations.

Engineers are currently carrying out works to help maintain reliability on the Weymouth to Bristol line, also known as the ‘Heart of Wessex’ route.

South of Yeovil Pen Mill station, engineers will remove loose material from the rockface of the railway cutting, install 250 metres of new lineside fencing and install equipment to monitor the cutting remotely.

Mark Killick, Network Rail Wessex route director, said the works will 'improve the reliability of the railway line' which he notes 'provides an important route for local communities.'

Yeovil Pen Mill signal box, which controls signalling between Castle Cary and Dorchester West, is one of the country’s few remaining semaphore signal boxes, using levers to switch sets of points and lower and raise signal arms. At Yeovil Pen Mill station, engineers will replace sleepers that support the rails, which means teams will need to navigate historic signalling rods positioned alongside the railway and used to control the station’s semaphore signals.

Structural engineers will also conduct a thorough inspection of a bridge crossing the River Yeo, using cameras mounted on a Road Rail Vehicle.