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Friday 30 Oct 2026

Passengers advised to plan ahead during major November engineering work in west Wales

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

Essential track renewals and maintenance work will take place from early November, helping to improve the safety, reliability and resilience of the railway across west Wales.

The work will involve three separate closures, including a week-long closure of the Whitland to Pembroke line and two weekend closures affecting all railway lines west of Carmarthen.

Bringing a range of engineering and maintenance activities together during these closures will allow teams to complete the work more efficiently and reduce the need for further disruption.

Whitland to Pembroke - 6 to 14 November

The railway between Whitland and Pembroke will be closed from 23:30 on Friday 6 November until 05:45 on Saturday 14 November.

During the closure, engineers will carry out a significant programme of track renewal, including:

• Renewing around 1,800 metres of track and approximately 500 metres of additional rail
• Replacing switches, crossings and supporting bearers at Tenby
• Installing around 900 metres of new rail at Llanion and converting the track from jointed rail to continuously welded rail
• Vegetation management along the route and additional maintenance

The work will replace track and components which have reached the end of their operational life, helping to keep the railway safe and reliable for passengers.

Wider west Wales closures

Separate engineering work will also take place on all railway lines west of Carmarthen during two weekends:

• from 00:01 on Sunday 1 November until 01:45 on Monday 2 November
• from 00:01 on Sunday 15 November until 01:45 on Monday 16 November

The main work during these closures will involve replacing switches, crossings and supporting bearers at Whitland.

Network Rail maintenance teams and other contractors will also use the opportunity to carry out additional work while the railway is closed, helping to make the most efficient use of the closures.

Rail replacement buses will operate during the affected periods, with passengers advised to check their journey before travelling.

James Booth, Programme Manager at Network Rail, said: “We know these closures will cause disruption and we’re sorry for the inconvenience to passengers.

“November will see a significant programme of essential work across west Wales, replacing track and other components that have reached the end of their operational life.

“By bringing a number of different jobs together during these closures, our teams can complete more work in a shorter period and reduce the need for separate closures in future.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience and ask everyone travelling during the affected dates to check their journey before setting off.”

Passengers should check their journey before travelling at nationalrail.co.uk.