The timetable, which is introduced on December 14, will see an extra 690 trains running on the network every day - a 3.4% increase across England on weekdays, a 5.2% increase for Saturday services and 7.6% more trains running on Sundays.
Andrew Adonis said:
"The popularity of rail travel has grown massively in recent years and it's vital we keep up with this demand. This new timetable will see many more trains running every day, in fact there will be 20% more trains than 10 years ago."
Areas in the South West affected by the timetables changes include:
- The reintroduction of services from Taunton to Cardiff, via Weston-Super-Mare;
- Hourly services between Bristol Parkway and Weston-Super-Mare, and Cardiff to Taunton;
- Faster First Great Western services;
- Additional stops at key stations;
- A phased introduction of extra seating on High Speed Trains; and
- A new direct train service from Ivybridge to London.
