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Friday 24 May 2024

Music fans heading to Taylor’s Cardiff concert can make Swift exit as Network Rail pauses engineering works

Region & Route:

Wales & Western

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

Taylor Swift fans heading to the superstar’s Principality Stadium concert next month won’t need a Getaway Car to make a Swift exit as Network Rail will pause its engineering works on the Vale of Glamorgan line.

With a 10-day closure in place between Rhoose Cardiff International Airport and Bridgend, Swifties planning their journeys to and from the stadium on Tuesday 18 June may have been concerned they were in for a Cruel Summer by having to make alternative travel plans.

But there will not be a Blank Space on the departures board as rail planners have assessed the challenge of transporting thousands of fans to and from the concert – and declared they are Ready For It.

All lines between Rhoose Cardiff International Airport and Bridgend will be closed from Saturday 8 June to Monday 17 June inclusive, but will reopen on Tuesday 18 June, then be closed again on Wednesday 19 June and Thursday 20 June. When the lines are shut, buses will replace trains.

Network Rail is carrying out three essential pieces of work on the line.

Engineers will be working between Llantwit Major and Ewenny to carry out essential rock netting to help prevent landslips and stop material from reaching the tracks.

More than 130 metres of track will be renewed near Bridgend, while engineers will also be refurbishing switches and crossings – moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another and allow them to cross paths – close to Aberthaw.

The track renewal work will involve installing more than 1,000 tonnes of new ballast (track stone) and removing 1,200 tonnes of spoil.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “We are conscious of the number of concert-goers who rely on train services to get to and from the Principality Stadium, so there will be no engineering works on this stretch of the route on 18 June when Taylor Swift is performing.”