Engineering works to affect train journeys in February and March: Stock picture of track renewal taking place crop-2

Wednesday 31 Jan 2024

Engineering works to affect train journeys in February and March

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

Passengers are being urged to check before they travel while track renewals, electrification and essential maintenance work is carried out across the Wales and Borders network this February and March.

Network Rail and Transport for Wales (TfW) are working on a programme of infrastructure upgrades, with the majority of work taking place during evenings and weekends to minimise disruption as much as possible.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential maintenance will help to make the route more robust before we go into the busy summer season.

“We recognise there is never a good time to close the railway, but we have planned the work to minimise disruption as much as possible.

“I would like to thank passengers for their patience and urge them to check their journey before travelling.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at TfW, said: “This programme of work includes vital infrastructure upgrades for the South Wales Metro and other essential maintenance of our network.

“We understand rail replacements are frustrating for customers and we’ve worked hard to keep service disruption to a minimum.

“We have a comprehensive bus replacement plan to keep people moving while the work is taking place, and we advise customers to check for the latest information using the TfW website or mobile app before travelling.”

Buses replace trains during all work below unless otherwise stated.

February

  • Between Wrexham and Bidston on Sunday 4, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11.
  • Between Shrewsbury and Birmingham New Street on Sunday 4.
  • Shrewsbury and Chester on Saturday 10 (after 6.15pm) and Sunday 11.
  • Between Cardiff and Penarth/Barry Island/Bridgend via the Vale of Glamorgan line on Sunday 4 until 12.25pm.
  • Between Cardiff/Newport and Ebbw Vale all day on Sundays 11, 18 and 25.
  • Between Newtown and Machynlleth on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18. Some rail services will start/end at Shrewsbury.
  • Between Rhyl and Holyhead on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18. Includes the Llandudno branch and Conwy Valley line.
  • Pontypridd and Aberdare (until late morning) Sunday 18 until late morning.
  • Cardiff Central and Rhymney (early morning), Caerphilly (all day) and Radyr via Cathays (all day) on Sunday 25.
  • Between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay Sunday 25. Ticket acceptance with Cardiff Bus.
  • Between Carmarthen/Haverfordwest and Milford Haven between Monday 26 and Thursday 29 Buses are planned to replace train services between Carmarthen and Milford Haven on 26-27 between 9.25am and 2.35pm, and between Haverfordwest and Milford Haven during the same hours on 28-29.
  • Between Llanwrtyd and Llanelli between Monday 26 and Friday 1 March. Buses will start and end at Shrewsbury and some services will extend or start at Llandrindod Wells and some will start and end at Llandovery.

March

  • Between Cardiff Central and Caerphilly, Radyr via Cathays, Penarth and Cardiff Bay (ticket acceptance with Cardiff Bus) all day between Friday 1 and Monday 4.
  • Between Cardiff Central and Rhymney (early morning and late night) on Saturday 2 and early mornings only on Sunday 3 and Monday 4.
  • Cardiff Central and Radyr via City line Saturday 2 and Monday 4 (both all day).
  • Between Cardiff and Penarth/Barry Island/Bridgend via the Vale of Glamorgan line on Sunday 3 (until 12.25pm).
  • Between Cardiff and Swansea on Sunday 3, Sunday 17 and Sunday 24.
  • Between Knighton and Llandrindod on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10. Buses run from Shrewsbury and will connect in and out at Llanwrtyd.
  • Cardiff Central and Radyr via Cathays Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 (both all day).
  • Cardiff Central and Caerphilly and Cardiff Bay on Sunday 24 and Sunday 29 to Monday April 1 (all day).
  • Cardiff Central and Radyr via Cathays Friday 29 to Monday 1 April (all day).
  • Between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock from Monday 18 to Wednesday 27 March. Each train will be replaced by two buses, one which will stop at every station, the other stopping only at Whitland and Tenby. 
  • Between Rhyl and Holyhead on Saturday 23. Includes the Llandudno branch and Conwy Valley line.
  • Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 between Rhoose Cardiff Airport and Bridgend, and between Cardiff/Bridgend and Maesteg.
  • Sunday 17 and Sunday 24 between Rhoose Cardiff Airport and Bridgend, and between Cardiff/Bridgend and Maesteg.
  • Ebbw Vale line (morning only) on 23 March.

Contact information

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

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Steve Cotton
Media Relations Manager
steve.cotton2@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.

Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk