Passengers urged to plan ahead as works begin at Barmouth and Cambrian Coast line

Passengers are being urged to plan ahead while track upgrades are undertaken in Barmouth and on the Cambrian Coast line.

Buses will replace trains for the next four weeks while Network Rail continues work to refurbish Barmouth Viaduct. 

Engineers will replace track at Barmouth and further south at Tywyn.  

Buses will replace trains between Machynlleth and Pwllheli up to Friday, 18 November. 

From Saturday, 19 November, to Friday, 9 December, buses will remain in operation between Machynlleth and Harlech, but the railway will reopen between Harlech and Pwllheli so that Transport for Wales can run a shuttle rail service. 

The railway will reopen fully on Saturday, 10 December, in time for the Christmas period. 

The footpath across the Barmouth viaduct will close up until 5am on 10 December, to protect the safety of staff and the public.  

Nick Millington, interim route director at Network Rail Wales and Borders said: “We would like to thank the local community for bearing with us throughout this period as we carry out these essential upgrades.  

“We know how important this rail link is to local communities, so we’ve carefully planned our work around the school holiday and the festive period to minimise disruption as much as possible.”  

Earlier this autumn, the railway was closed to passenger services for five weeks, from 12 September to 14 October, reopening in time for the October half term.

The restoration of Barmouth’s metallic elements was originally planned to take place in one go, in autumn 2022, but is now being split across the next two years. Dates for working on the viaduct during 2023 are still being finalised.    

The work to refurbish the iconic railway structure is the biggest and most ambitious in its history.

As well as upgrading the metallic elements of the Grade II* listed bridge and laying new track, additional repairs will be carried out including strengthening work to the north abutments and further upgrades of some of the timber elements following the major renewals of timber in 2020 and 2021.