Barmouth Viaduct to reopen for four weeks as Network Rail prepare for their second stage of restoration works

Friday 14 Oct 2022

Barmouth Viaduct to reopen for four weeks as Network Rail prepare for their second stage of restoration works

Region & Route:: Wales & Western: Wales & Borders; | Wales & Western

The iconic Barmouth Viaduct will reopen for passengers for four weeks, including the half term, from Saturday 15 October to Sunday 13 November.

The viaduct was closed for five weeks from Monday 12 September as Network Rail carried out essential repairs and restoration works. Working with contractors Alun Griffiths, teams from Network Rail repaired the timber supporting beams and continued with restoring the metallic sub-structure section.

More than 2,000 working hours were dedicated to finishing this stage on time in the five-week window to reduce disruption for passengers. Engineers had to carefully plan their work around tide times and adapt their shifts to work in safe weather conditions.

The next stage of work from November will include additional repairs and strengthening work as well as further metallic restoration and a track renewal. During this stage, the railway will close and the footpath across the viaduct will also close to keep pedestrians safe.

Buses will replace train services from Sunday 15 November to Saturday 10 December, so passengers are urged to check before they travel to avoid disappointment.

Ben Perkins, scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “I would like to thank passengers for their patience as we continue to safely carry out these works on this vital transport link.

“Our efforts will ensure that the viaduct will continue to be secure and will remain operational for future generations.”

Notes to Editors

The restoration of Barmouth’s metallic elements was originally planned to take place in one go this autumn but is now being split across the next two years, to reduce the impact on rail services, the community and local economy. Dates for working on the viaduct during 2023 are still being finalised.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Callum Jones
callum.jones2@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.