Five-day closure planned for Heart of Wales railway line

Nation.Cymru staff

A section of one of Wales’ most scenic railway lines is to close for five days while engineers carry out track renewals and other improvement work.

The Heart of Wales line between Craven Arms and Llandrindod Wells will be closed from 7am on Monday September 28 until 7pm on Friday October 2.

Network Rail said teams will work at several locations along the route, including Bucknell, Knucklas, Llangynllo, Penybont and Llandrindod Wells.

The work will include replacing track timbers between Bucknell and Llangynllo and renewing railway sleepers and timbers between Craven Arms Junction and Llandrindod Wells.

Engineers will also carry out surveys at Penybont Tunnel to help plan future work, while Llangynllo Tunnel will be inspected and undergo repairs and vegetation clearance.

Network Rail said the programme was needed to maintain the safety and reliability of services and support the long-term future of the line.

Transport for Wales will operate replacement buses between Shrewsbury and Llandrindod Wells throughout the closure, while trains will continue to run between Llandrindod Wells and Swansea.

Express replacement buses will call at Shrewsbury, Craven Arms, Knighton and Llandrindod Wells, with minibuses serving all stations along the affected route.

Between Monday and Thursday, five replacement services will leave Shrewsbury each day and six will depart Llandrindod Wells, running approximately every three hours.

On Friday there will be four departures from Shrewsbury and five from Llandrindod Wells.

Rail services are expected to resume after 7pm on Friday, with standby buses available if required.

A small number of services between Shrewsbury and Crewe will also be affected, with buses replacing trains between the two stations from 11.40pm until 5.30am each night.

Road closures

The engineering programme will also result in overnight closures at four level crossings.

Brynmarlais level crossing, between Llandybie and Bonllwyn, will close from 10.05pm on Monday until 5.30am on Tuesday.

Llandadog level crossing in Llangadog will close from 9.45pm on Tuesday until 5.30am on Wednesday, followed by Llandybie level crossing from 10.05pm on Wednesday until 5.30am on Thursday.

Tirydail level crossing in Ammanford will then close from 10.05pm on Thursday until 5.30am on Friday.

Passengers have been advised to allow extra time for their journeys and check services before travelling.

The latest travel information can be found through Transport for Wales or National rail enquiries.

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