WEEKEND ENGINEERING WORKS

Tuesday 20 Jul 2004

WEEKEND ENGINEERING WORKS

Region & Route:: | Wales & Western: Wales & Borders; | Wales & Western: Western; | Wales & Western

Major track renewal works in the Gloucester to South Wales area will be carried out every weekend for one month beginning on 23 July 2004 and finishing in the early hours of Monday 23 August. The work will involve heavy maintenance of the line including replacing several sections of track and points on the two-track railway between Gloucester and the Severn Tunnel. Re-railing, replacing and renewing switches and crossings will also be carried out. Part of the route between Gloucester West and the Severn Tunnel Junction will be closed every weekend from 23:40 on Fridays until 05:30 on Mondays. Gloucester station will remain open throughout with services terminating there. Train operator Central Trains will operate replacement bus services throughout the work to and from Gloucester station. Replacement buses will serve links to stations including Lydney, Chepstow, Caldicot, Severn Tunnel Junction and Newport. Diversionary services will also be operating via Bristol Parkway during this time with extended journey times. Network Rail’s Route Director, John Curley, said: “This crucial engineering work is part of our commitment to provide a safe and reliable railway. It is important that we improve track quality in the Gloucester area and avoid the need for severe line speed restrictions over several miles. “We would like to apologise in advance to everyone who will be affected by this work and will do our utmost to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.”

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