South Western Railway has stopped selling Advance tickets departing from Salisbury to London Waterloo, causing a "massive" increase to train ticket prices.

The change comes with a new temporary reduced timetable for the West of England Line, which will come into action from Monday 5 September.

SWR is introducing the revised timetable on the West of England Route to provide a "more reliable service" during the emergency speed restriction between Gillingham and Tisbury.

Read more: Dried-out soil takes its toll on West of England train tracks

From Monday, 5 September, SWR customers travelling from Salisbury to London Waterloo at peak hours will have to pay £44.25 for a return ticket if they have a railcard and £67.10 without.

This is a substantial increase from the cost of Advance tickets, which would cost £24.80 with a railcard and £37.60 without to travel at peak hours on Saturday, 3 September.

Salisbury Journal: New ticket prices for both railcard and non railcard customers on Trainline. New ticket prices for both railcard and non railcard customers on Trainline.

Ellen Smith, of Salisbury, is "lost for words" at the price increase and she doesn't know how she'll afford her bi-weekly commute to work.

The 25-year-old said it's made her "really upset", adding: "The increase in fares will be a massive blow financially.

"I've been trying to figure out how I am actually going to be able to get to work as the prices were already high, but now to not even be able to book in advance and purchase a ticket which reflects this is terrible."

This additional cost comes at a time where many people are feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis. 

Miss Smith's typical return journey used to cost £26.70 to £37.15 but without Advance tickets, every journey will cost up to £44.25 - a 65 per cent increase.

She added: "With the cost of living already increasing I feel this is totally unacceptable for us commuters who have no choice but to rely on this service."

The new timetable is expected to remain in place until at least October, with trains taking approximately twice as long to run between Gillingham and Tisbury.

A spokesperson for South Western Railway said: "We’ve been working closely with Network Rail to develop a timetable we’re confident can provide customers with more certainty on when they can make their journey and how long it will take during this period. 

"We have temporarily stopped the sale of Advance tickets on the West of England line (including for example from Salisbury to London) as they are sold for specific trains, and to avoid inconveniencing customers we do not want to offer tickets for services which we know will not be operating because a new timetable is being introduced."

SWR say it is working to get Advance tickets back on sale for the new services as quickly as possible.

Get more Salisbury news. 

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date, as well as signing up for one of our newsletters.

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering or a digital subscription.

Email newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.