Friday 5 Apr 2013
South Wales rail upgrade nears completion
- Region & Route:
- | Wales & Western: Wales & Borders
- | Wales & Western
Work on a £48m project to replace the Loughor Viaduct near Swansea and redouble a 5.25-mile stretch of railway through Gowerton is close to completion.
One of the most exciting parts of the project, replacing the old Loughor Viaduct with a new bridge, has been completed and there is now a full focus on the redoubling of the former bottleneck through Gowerton, which is scheduled to be complete ready for the start of services on Monday, 8 April.
The project is being jointly funded by Network Rail and the Welsh Government in partnership with the South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH).
The work is taking place during a 16-day closure of the line between Swansea and Llanelli that began on 24 March and ends on 8 April. This has enabled engineers to carry out extensive work to redouble the track, provide a new platform and footbridge, and upgrade Duffryn level crossing.
Mark Langman, route managing director, Wales, said: “The difficult and exciting task of replacing the Loughor Viaduct is now complete and progress with the redoubling of the five-mile stretch of line is going to plan. This new viaduct and redoubling of the railway through Gowerton will remove the current bottleneck created by the stretch of single line and provide capacity to run more trains in the future.
“This project joins a number of other rail improvement projects in South and West Wales that will help deliver better journeys and boost economic growth in the area. The new viaduct at Loughor and the redoubling, as well as the new station platform and footbridge at Gowerton are part of a package of station and infrastructure improvements to make rail travel more comfortable and attractive to the public.
“As well as making it easier to travel to and from West Wales, they will help to boost local employment opportunities. I would like to thank people for their patience while we have worked to improve the viaduct and lay the second track.”
Notes to editors
A new footbridge was successfully installed at Gowerton station towards the end of January. Works at the station are ongoing and will see the redundant east-bound platform brought back into use along with new lighting, signage and CCTV.
Duffryn level crossing has been upgraded to accommodate the additional line, whilst work has taken place to structures at the River Lliw, Traffle Mill; Gypsy Cross and Rhosog.
Both schemes are being managed by a joint project management team comprising Network Rail and its contractors. The redoubling works are being undertaken by a Colas Rail / Morgan Sindall joint venture whilst the Loughor Viaduct replacement scheme has been completed by Carillion.
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