Conwy Valley Line in North Wales reopens after emergency repairs

Saturday 13 Apr 2024

Conwy Valley Line in North Wales reopens after emergency repairs

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

Train services on the Conwy Valley Line in North Wales have resumed this morning (Saturday 13 April) following emergency repairs to flood damage.

The line was closed on Tuesday afternoon (9 April) when river flooding washed away ballast (the stones that support the track) near Dolgarrog station.

Network Rail engineers have since worked around the clock so the railway could reopen safely, installing more than 200 tonnes of new ballast.

The work was completed last night, with the line successfully tested this morning to allow Transport for Wales to resume services between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Rachel Heath, Network Rail Wales and Borders operations director, said: “I’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carried out repairs to the Conwy Valley Line. I’d also like to thank our teams who worked tirelessly to plan and carry out the work, allowing the railway to reopen safely.

“While it is always disappointing to have to shut any line for these reasons, we are heartened by the fact the resilience work we completed in 2019 and 2020 allowed us to recover quickly from this week’s incident and reopen the line within four days.”

Marie Daly, Chief Customer and Culture Officer at TfW, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience while our colleagues at Network Rail worked to repair the damage caused by the recent flooding.

“Customers can check for the latest travel information using the TfW website, our award-winning mobile app or via our social media channels.”

Notes to Editors

Following storm damage in 2019, the line was closed for four months while Network Rail carried out work to repair six miles of track, two stations and eight level crossings.
Further work in 2020 saw the line closed for seven months (largely during the COVID pandemic when trains were not running on the route) so Network Rail could install 16,000 tonnes of rock armour.
The latest incident was 0.5 miles from the resilience work carried out in 2020. These works held firm and, had they not taken place, this latest flooding incident is likely to have closed the line for a period of up to four months.

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