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Friday 25 Feb 2022

Sunday strengthening for Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line

Region & Route:

North West & Central: Central

| North West & Central

Engineers are protecting the railway from very wet weather over the next four Sundays between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.

Network Rail is strengthening railway embankments in Telford to reduce the risk of it moving after heavy rainfall.

The sections of raised track will be protected from landslips over the next four Sundays – 27 February and the 6, 13, and 20 March.

The £1.1m investment will make future journeys safer and more reliable for passengers and freight services on the vital route connecting the West Midlands to Shropshire and Wales.

Passengers are being advised of changes to weekend journeys with trains unable to run during the project.

To keep people on the move, rail replacement buses will be in operation throughout the work*.

Journeys will take longer and passengers are urged to check www.nationalrail.co.uk so they know exactly know what to expect during the improvements.

Denise Wetton, Network Rail’s Central route director, said: “Three recent storms in just a week show why preventative work like this is vital to make the railway better able to cope from the impact of extreme weather.

“Strengthening these railway embankments in Telford will reduce the risk of them slipping and disrupting trains – if this happens it can mean lengthy delays if we have to make emergency repairs. I thank people in advance for their patience and I’d urge anyone planning journeys over these four consecutive Sundays to check before they travel using National Rail Enquiries.”

Bus replacement services will be in operation between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, while direct services between London Euston and Shrewsbury will not run during the improvement work.

Trains will still run between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.

Gus Dunster, Avanti West Coast's executive director for operations and safety, said: “We’re working closely with Network Rail on this essential work that will help deliver long term improvements to the reliability of our services to and from Shropshire.

“Customers are strong advised to check before their travel, and those able to do so consider making their journeys either side of the weekend.”

Jan Chaudhry van der Velde, Transport for Wales’ managing director, said: We are working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail as they carry out this vital resilience work, helping to protect our railway lines during extreme weather. I would like to thank our customers for their continued patience, both during last week’s storms and whilst these works are carried out.

“We continue to encourage our customers to plan ahead and use our online Journey Check service.”

Jonny Wiseman, West Midlands Railway customer experience director, said: “This important work will improve the resilience of the route between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury, reducing the risk of future cancellations due to flooding.

“I would like to thank our customers for their patience while the line is out of action on these Sundays and urge anyone needing to travel to plan ahead carefully.”

Passengers can check their journeys online at www.nationalrail.co.uk  or with their train operator.

For more information on how Network Rail carries out this type of project visit www.networkrail.co.uk/earthworks-cutting-slopes-and-embankments.