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Tuesday 27 Jun 2017

Residents reminded about level crossing improvement work between Leominster and Shrewsbury

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail is reminding local residents and road users that it will be upgrading Onibury level crossing on the A49 to make it more robust and reduce future disruption to road and rail users.

Work will begin this weekend so the level crossing will be closed from 00.01 on Saturday 1 July until 06.00 on Monday 10 July. To keep the public safe, the road will be fully closed to vehicles during this time. Between Monday 3 July and Friday 7 July, there will be full access across the level crossing to pedestrians to make sure there is minimum disruption to local people.

To ensure pedestrians can still travel from one side of the crossing to the other throughout the work, on the  weekends of 1-2 July and 8-9 July  Network Rail will be providing a shuttle bus service between 7am and 11pm. There will also be a shuttle bus service from Onibury village to transport passengers to Craven Arms to link in with the 435 service bus throughout the work.

Jeff Davies, route safety and asset management director for Network Rail Wales, said: “Onibury level crossing has been closed at short notice several times recently for essential maintenance, which has caused disruption for the local community and commuters.

“The level crossing is due to be closed at the beginning of July to allow engineers to completely renew the crossing and fully upgrade the track.This will help to prevent repeated closures in the future and allow us to continue operating a safe and reliable railway.

“We were pleased to meet with so many local residents at our drop-in events about the closure and we have used their feedback to ensure that we are minimising disruption to the local communities.”

The road surface on Onibury level crossing has deteriorated and pot-holes have formed due to its location on the busy A49, where thousands of vehicles put pressure on the surface of the crossing every day.

During the past six months, six emergency road closures have had to take place following damage to the surface of Onibury level crossing. 

The planned temporary closure of the level crossing will allow Network Rail to completely renew the crossing and fully upgrade the track. This will significantly extend the life of the crossing and help to prevent repeated closures in the future. The new level crossing panels will be made of black rubber instead of concrete. This means the surface will be more durable and smoother for road users when crossing.

Work will be completed as quickly and safely as possible.  

Network Rail has worked with Highways England, Shropshire Council, Herefordshire Council and Worcestershire County Council to put a diversionary route in place. This route will be fully signposted and maintained throughout the road closure.

Road users are advised to plan ahead and allow additional time for travelling.       

The railway will be closed between Shrewsbury and Hereford on the weekends of 1-2 July and 8-9 July and a rail replacement bus service will be in operation.

Network Rail is working with Arriva Trains Wales to minimise disruption. Rail passengers are advised to check www.nationalrail.co.uk before travelling.