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Friday 11 Nov 2016

Cardiff residents to learn more about temporary level crossing closures over the festive period as railway upgrade continues

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Cardiff residents have been invited to a series of drop-in events to learn more about temporary level crossing closures planned over the festive season as work to deliver Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan continues.

The final phase of the £300m Cardiff area signalling renewal scheme – the biggest remodelling and resignalling project in Wales ever – will be fully commissioned over this Christmas and New Year. The congestion-busting scheme will help deliver a more reliable railway across the Cardiff and Valleys network as Network Rail prepares the railway for the arrival of a new fleet of bigger, faster and greener electric trains.

During this final phase of the project some of the existing signal boxes will be closed and all signalling transferred to the Wales route operations centre in Cardiff. To fully commission the scheme, some sections of the railway need to be closed for a short period to test all of the new equipment.

Temporary planned closures of five level crossings west of Cardiff will all begin at 10pm on 24 December. 

Level Crossing:	Closed until:
St Fagans	8am on 27 December
St Georges	5am on 4 January
Pontsarn	8am on 29 December
Llantrisant West	8am on 29 December
Rhoose	8am on 26 December

Residents are invited to attend a series of information drop-in events which will be hosted over the coming weeks at:

• St Fagans Village Hall on Tuesday, 15 November from 3pm until 7pm
• Peterston-super-Ely Church & Community Hall on Thursday, 17 November from 3pm until 6pm
• Pontyclun Rugby Club on Wednesday, 23 November from 3pm until 7pm

Network Rail will be on hand to provide information on this upgrade work and to answer any questions – no appointments are necessary.

During this essential final phase of the project there will be no train services late on Christmas Eve between Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Newport and the Valleys, and there will be bus replacements and service alterations in place between Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Newport and the Valleys from 27 December until 3 January.

Christian Irwin, programme manager for Network Rail Wales, said: “This is the final phase of the highly complex project to re-signal the railway in the Cardiff area as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, which will modernise the signalling system in South Wales allowing more services to run along the railway, resulting in an increase in passenger capacity, particularly at peak times.

“As part of this project we have replaced ageing signalling equipment, enhanced track layouts, built new platforms and improved stations.

“We would like to thank the general public and rail passengers for their patience and understanding while we complete this essential final phase of this major upgrade project.”

If you have any questions or concerns, please telephone our 24-Hour National Helpline on 03457 11 41 41 or email crwales@networkrail.co.uk.

Notes to Editor:

We are holding information ‘drop in’ events at:

St Fagans Village Hall, Crofft-y-Genau Road, St Fagans, Cardiff, CF5 6DU on Tuesday, 15 November between the hours of 3pm and 7pm.

Peterston-super-Ely Church & Community Hall, Ffordd-yr-Eglwys, Peterston-super-Ely, CF5 6LE on Thursday, 17 November between 3pm and 6pm.

Pontyclun Rugby Club, The Club House, Llantrisant Road, Pontyclun, CF72 9DQ on Wednesday, 23 November between the hours of 3pm and 7pm.

Work on this major project will begin on Christmas Eve this year. This is because Christmas Eve falls on a Saturday so we expect many people to have completed their journey on Friday, 23 December, and the railway to be quieter.

Cardiff area signalling renewal scheme:

Description: As part of a £300m scheme to modernise the railway in South Wales – the biggest investment in the Welsh network for more than 100 years – CASR is a congestion-busting scheme that will also help to deliver a more reliable railway across the Cardiff and Valleys network. The work over Christmas will see the biggest commission of remodelling and re-signalling in Wales ever starting on Christmas Eve until 3 January.

Impact: There will be no train services late on Christmas Eve between Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Newport and the Valleys and there will be bus replacements and diversions in place between Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Newport and the Valleys from 27 December until 3 January.