Media centre

Tuesday 3 Jan 2017

Welsh passengers thanked following festive railway upgrade

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western

Network Rail and Arriva Trains Wales have thanked passengers for their patience during a major railway upgrade in Cardiff and the Valleys delivered over the festive period.

Hundreds of Network Rail’s orange army worked day and night in bitterly cold conditions to deliver a bigger and better railway for passengers. The work was part of the Cardiff Area Signalling Renewals project, a £300m renewal and enhancement scheme that includes the largest signalling phase of its kind ever commissioned on the rail network.

As part of this project Network Rail have replaced outdated signalling with state of the art technology, upgraded the track layout at key points on the Cardiff and Valleys network, and delivered new platforms and improved stations.

Platform 8 at Cardiff Central has also opened for passenger use: providing an enhanced new waiting area for passengers and allowing greater flexibility when running trains in and out of the city centre.

Andy Thomas, Wales route managing director said: “I’m incredibly grateful to passengers for bearing with us while we delivered this vital upgrade.

“This work is a cornerstone of our Railway Upgrade Plan to build a bigger, better railway here in Wales. This is the largest and most complex signalling phase delivered to date anywhere in Britain, unlocking the potential to run 16 trains per hour - from 12 - into the heart of our capital city, should fleet be made available in the future. It has also increased operational resilience and our capacity to recover when incidents arise in the meantime.

“We’ve also opened a brand new platform and waiting area at Cardiff Central - the final stage of a major enhancement that significantly improves the experience for rail passengers using the station.”

Ian Bullock, managing director of Arriva Trains Wales, said: “We would like to thank everyone travelling for their patience over the festive period whilst the improvement works have been taking place.

“It is fantastic to have the brand new platform 8 operational for the Barry Island, Penarth and Vale of Glamorgan services. The new modern facilities will definitely enhance customer experience and help to ease congestion at the station.”

Christian Irwin, programme manager at Network Rail Wales said: “I’m very thankful for the patience shown by passengers in South Wales over the festive period. Although I understand disruption is never ideal, the work we have delivered will benefit rail users for many decades to come and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved.

“I also want to pay tribute to our orange army – our teams of dedicated frontline staff and contractors – many of whom gave up precious time with their families to deliver this project over Christmas and New Year to minimise disruption for the travelling public."