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Friday 14 Nov 2025

Passengers urged to check before travelling as Storm Claudia brings disruption to the Wales and Borders railway

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

Passengers and rugby fans travelling to Cardiff are being advised of a route closure on the rail network between Hereford and Newport due flooding caused by Storm Claudia

With heavy rain, strong winds and widespread disruption across Wales. There will be no rail services between Hereford and Newport for the remainder of Friday evening and disruption is expected to last throughout the day on Saturday.

Limited rail replacement services will be in place where possible between Hereford, Shrewsbury and Newport. While these services are in place to get fans to and from the rugby, they will operate with limited capacity and TfW is unable to guarantee return journeys. People should consider alternative travel options.

Network Rail has closed the section of the Marches Line following advice from Natural Resources Wales because of several sites of flooding, with water levels not expected to fall until Saturday afternoon.

Passengers with valid tickets can travel at no extra cost with Avanti trains, Cross Country and Great Western Railway.

Passengers holding tickets for today and tomorrow can be used for travel on Monday (17th).

Nick Millington, Network Rail’s Western route director, said: “We’re doing everything we can to mitigate the impact of Storm Claudia to the railway, including placing extra staff at key locations across the network, who will be ready to respond if they’re required.

“We ask passengers to check before travelling on Friday and into the weekend, particularly if they are visiting Cardiff Principality Stadium for the rugby, to take extra care and allow plenty of time to complete their journeys.”

Marie Daly, Chief Operations Officer for Transport for Wales, said: “The safety of our customers and our colleagues is our absolute priority.

“While the rain is predicted to ease on Saturday, we will still be dealing with the impact on Friday’s storm and high water levels may mean that it’s not possible to run services safely. Customers should continue to check before they travel all weekend.

Network Rail and Transport for Wales teams are working across the route to manage the impact of Storm Claudia including carrying out flood inspections, monitoring river levels, responding to fallen trees and debris and running replacement bus services where possible.

The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority and we will be working together to keep our customers moving; however, there are likely to be some short notice amendments to services.