Thursday 8 Aug 2024
Passengers urged to check before they travel ahead of September engineering work between South Wales and Shropshire
- Region & Route:
- Wales & Western: Western
- | Wales & Western: Wales & Borders
Passengers are being urged to check before they travel between South Wales and Shropshire on three weekends in September when Network Rail will be carrying out essential engineering work.
All lines will be closed and buses will replace trains between Newport and Shrewsbury on Saturday and Sunday: 7-8 September, 14-15 September and 21-22 September.
Among a raft of improvement works, Network Rail engineers will reach an important milestone in the project to build a new fully accessible footbridge and lifts at Abergavenny station, installing the new span, stairs, glazing, scaffolding and lift shafts over the three weekends. The bridge is due to be completed in early 2025.
So that the work can be safely completed, the station car park will be closed from Friday 30 August to Monday 23 September. The nearby overflow car park, however, will remain open for passengers. Motorists are asked to avoid parking in local streets to keep everyone safe and avoid congestion.
Over the three weekends, Network Rail teams will also be:
- Renewing nearly 500m of track near the River Usk viaduct, south of Abergavenny, and more than 700m of track south of Hereford station.
- Refurbishing switches and crossings – moveable sections of track that guide trains from one track to another and allow them to cross paths – near Pontrilas, between Abergavenny and Hereford stations. Similar refurbishments will be carried out south of Hereford station and at Abergavenny.
- Renewing points – the mechanical systems that move the switches and crossings – and signalling testing at Shelwick Junction, north of Hereford.
- Working on three level crossing renewals in Herefordshire at Tram Inn, Leominster and Bucknell.
Anyone planning to attend the Abergavenny food festival on 21 and 22 September is advised that a rail replacement service will be in operation on both north and southbound journeys between Shrewsbury/Hereford and Newport. Passengers are asked to check before they travel and allow additional time to complete their journeys.
The engineering work will not affect services into Cardiff on Friday, 6 September ahead of the Wales v Turkey Nations League International at Cardiff City Stadium and immediately after the match. Passengers planning to stay overnight are reminded that a rail replacement service will be running between Newport and Shrewsbury on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September.
Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “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.
“Among other essential work, these closures of the line over three weekends in September will allow us to make significant progress on the accessible footbridge at Abergavenny, which will provide access for all rail users for generations to come.
“I would like to thank passengers for their patience and urge them to check their journeys before travelling.”
Sarah Higgins, operations director for Transport for Wales, said: “This work is a much-needed investment by our partners in Network Rail to ensure customers with reduced mobility can access our services at Abergavenny, alongside making the rail infrastructure safe for years to come.
“While there is never an ideal time to carry out engineering work, the fact that this combination of work can be delivered at the same time means less overall disruption for customers.
“A comprehensive road transport plan will be in place, but customers should allow journeys to take longer than usual, and we strongly advise you to check journey details before you travel.”
Network Rail advises all passengers check their journey with National Rail Enquiries or Transport for Wales before travelling.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - Claire McGine
Communications Manager
07734 647240
Claire.Mcgine@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