Media centre

Tuesday 18 Feb 2020

Extreme Weather Events: Some lines reopen as Network Rail continue to work hard ahead of more heavy rain

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail has worked around the clock on the Wales and Borders route following Storm Dennis to reopen lines affected by flooding, although some closures and disruption remains in place with more heavy rain forecast this week.

A number of lines have reopened today after a huge effort from engineers to repair damage caused by flooding and strong winds.

However, some lines remain closed as flooding continues to cause disruption with passengers urged by Network Rail and Transport for Wales to check before they travel once again this week with more heavy rainfall expected in Wales on Wednesday and Thursday.

Transport for Wales is also publicising the bus replacement services they are operating on the affected lines.

Network Rail have teams on numerous sites across the Wales and Borders railway network and will open all lines as soon as it is safe to do so.

As of 1500 (3pm) on Tuesday 18 February, the affected lines include:

• Aberdare Line: Closed. Likely to be closed for several days)
• Treherbert Line: Closed. Likely to remain closed on Tuesday)
• Ebbw Vale Line (North of Cross Keys North): Closed following a landslip but will hopefully reopen tomorrow
• Abergavenny - Hereford: Line currently closed. Hopefully reopen by Saturday morning (times tbc)
• Heart of Wales line: Likely to remain closed on Tuesday
• Conwy Valley: Line closed until further notice

 

• Cambrian Line: Hopefully fully reopening today (envisaged that services will commence from tomorrow)
• (Shrewsbury to Machynlleth, as above)
• (Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth, as above)
• (Machynlleth – Pwllheli, as above)

This information is subject to changes, so please check journey details before travel.

Bill Kelly, Network Rail’s route director for Wales and Borders said:

“Over the last two weeks, we have seen the network severely impacted by two extreme weather events, in the form of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis, and we are expecting more extreme rain later this week. This has had major implications for the network and we have had to close several lines while we undertake the necessary assessments and repairs.

“While we have teams working around the clock to bring these lines back into service, we know there are some lines that will remain closed for the short to medium term, while there are others we are hoping we can reopen sooner.

“I completely understand the inconvenience and frustration closing a line causes and we apologise for this and ask passengers to bear with us as we work hard to make good the damage as soon as we can and as safely as we can.”

Transport for Wales’ Customer Delivery Director, Bethan Jelfs said:

“As a result of rail and road infrastructure damage and continued flooding caused by Storm Dennis, and a weather warning for further heavy rain this week we are still strongly advising all customers to check their journey arrangements prior to travel and allow plenty of time.

“The rail network is significantly damaged in places and with limited replacement road transport available to us it’s inevitable that some services will be subject to disruption which will result in delays and cancellations.

“Where trains are cancelled or terminating short of destination, every effort will be made to provide a rail replacement bus service wherever possible, however with continued flooding and damage to a number of roads, journeys may take significantly longer than is usual on many routes.

“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our absolute priority and we are working closely with Network Rail and doing all we can to minimise the disruption and keep our customers moving and informed.

“The situation is changing all the time and therefore services are likely to be disrupted with last minute alterations. Customers are advised to check their journey before travelling on nationalrail.co.uk or journeycheck.com/tfwrail/.

“We would like to thank customers in advance for their patience and understanding.”