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Friday 19 Dec 2025

Christmas and New Year travel reminder for passengers across Wales and Borders

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

Passengers travelling by train over the festive period are being urged to plan ahead and check their journeys in advance, as essential engineering work takes place near Cardiff Central station.

As usual, there will be no train services or rail replacement buses operating on Christmas Day or Boxing Day (25 and 26 December). Services will also finish earlier than normal on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and will start later on 27 December.

Between 24 and 31 December, Network Rail Wales will carry out vital upgrades to the railway west of Cardiff Central Station to help keep services safe and reliable for passengers.

The work includes upgrades to the track infrastructure, including rails, sleepers, switches and crossings, and points, which guide trains safely from one line to another - with teams working day and night to complete the improvements safely.

To allow this work to take place, some tracks through Cardiff Central Station will be closed. As a result, some services may be diverted, retimed or replaced by buses, and journeys elsewhere on the wider rail network may also be affected.

Passengers are strongly advised to check the latest travel information before travelling at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Planned engineering work dates

• Wednesday 24 December to Wednesday 31 December - continuous work from 11.30pm on 24 December until 4.00am on 31 December
• Saturday 3 January to Sunday 4 January - 11.30pm to 9.00am

Transport for Wales services

• Maesteg services will operate as a shuttle between Bridgend and Maesteg.
• Services to and from west of Cardiff Central will call at all stations where possible, divert via Ninian Park (non-stop) and use Cardiff Central platform 4.
• Trains using the Ninian Park diversion will be retimed by a few minutes.
• Services that usually run between Ebbw Vale Town and Maesteg will instead operate between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central only.

Great Western Railway services

• On Saturdays and Sundays, trains between London Paddington and Cardiff Central, Swansea and Carmarthen may run up to two minutes earlier or later than usual.
• Services between Cardiff Central and Bridgend will be diverted via Ninian Park (non-stop), adding a few minutes to journey times.
• Calling times between Cardiff Central and Swansea or Carmarthen may be slightly earlier or later than normal.

Nick Millington, Route Director for Network Rail Wales and the Borders, said, “The Christmas and New Year period allows us to carry out some of our most vital engineering work, when fewer trains are running and fewer people are travelling. These upgrades are essential to keeping the railway safe and reliable for passengers throughout the year.

“We know this work can affect journeys, so I would encourage everyone to plan ahead, check before they travel and allow extra time for their journeys. We’re grateful for everyone’s patience while our teams work around the clock to improve the railway, and we’d like to wish all our passengers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Network Rail carries out much of its major engineering work over the festive period, when fewer people are travelling and fewer trains are running. This allows teams to safely close sections of the railway and complete essential upgrades while minimising disruption to passengers who rely on rail services for work or important appointments.