Westerleigh Junction

Westerleigh Junction is a railway junction in Gloucestershire, England, where the Cross Country Route (XCR) from York to Bristol meets the South Wales Main Line (SWML) from London to Swansea, near the village of Westerleigh.

The junction is located between the stations of Bristol Parkway, Swindon and Yate.

The junction provides access from the SWML to the west and the XCR to the north. The lines cross Westerleigh Road in separate bridges, with a bridge over the old Bristol and Gloucester Railway, now a single line to a Murco depot, just to the west of the junction.

The South Wales Main Line section of the junction is due to be electrified with 25 kV AC overhead lines as part of the 21st Century upgrade of the Great Western Main Line.

The junction originated in 1903, when the Great Western Railway opened the Badminton Line, the direct route of the South Wales Main Line. The junction connected the eastbound SWML to the northbound Midland Railway (now part of the XCR), which had opened in 1844 as the Bristol and Gloucester Railway. The junction provided a route from Bristol to the Midland Railway via Filton Junction, an alternative to the direct Midland Railway route through Mangotsfield.

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