Railway line upgrades planned this May to prepare for new trains and improve reliability
Rail engineering work is to be carried out this May on the Cambrian line in preparation for new trains entering service later this year.
Passengers are advised of temporary service changes while Network Rail carries out essential infrastructure improvements ahead of new trains entering service later this year.
Rail passengers travelling between mid-Wales and the Borders this May are encouraged to plan ahead, as essential engineering works will affect services between Aberystwyth, Shrewsbury, Llandrindod and Hereford.
Network Rail will carry out infrastructure improvements on the Cambrian line between Shrewsbury, Aberystwyth and Machynlleth from Friday 8 May until Friday 22 May.
Services between Llandrindod, Hereford and Shrewsbury will be affected on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May
The work is important to prepare the Cambrian line for the introduction of Class 197 trains on the Cambrian line later this year.
These modern trains have already been welcomed by passengers across the Wales and Borders network, offering enhanced comfort and capacity.
The programme has been carefully planned to minimise disruption, with the line set to fully reopen in time for the May half term. These essential upgrades will help maintain a safe and reliable railway for both passenger and freight services in the future.
The work will include:
- Track renewal at Montgomery
- Level crossing renewals at Llanidloes Road, Caersws and Llanbadarn Fawr
- Bridge refurbishment work in Shrewsbury
- Land and drainage improvements near Dol-y-Bont, Fronfraith and Llanbadarn
- General maintenance and vegetation management across multiple locations
Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said, “We know this will be a disruptive period for customers travelling across mid-Wales and the borders, and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience while these essential improvements are carried out.
“With different sections of the railway closed on different days between 8 and 22 May, it’s really important that customers travelling between Aberystwyth, Pwllheli, Shrewsbury, Hereford and Llandrindod plan ahead and check their journey before travelling, using our website or app.
“These upgrades are a vital step towards introducing our brand-new Class 197 trains on the Cambrian line later this year, which will bring improved comfort and capacity for customers.”
During this period TfW has organised rail replacement buses to ensure customers can continue to travel, including dedicated services to support local schools and colleges along the affected routes.
Gwyn Rees, Programme Director at Network Rail Wales and Borders, said, “These essential upgrades will help us maintain a safe and reliable railway for passengers and freight services across mid Wales. We’ve carefully planned this work to minimise disruption wherever possible with the line due to fully reopen in time for the May half term.
“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while we carry out these important improvements.”
For the latest travel information visit www.tfw.wales
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Network Rail used the Cambrian line to test an experimental digital signalling system before rolling out a newer version elsewhere in the UK leaving this line on an obsolete system, preventing TfW using new trains without expensive and difficult downgrading. It would’ve cost almost nothing to upgrade this system at the same time as rolling out the newer version elsewhere but London beancounters couldn’t see the point.
Welcome progress, although I think it’s disingenuous of them to refer to “improved comfort”. The new trains have fewer seats, fewer toilets, draughts in winter due to doors in the middle of the seating area and awful ride quality. The outgoing trains are smoother and better appointed in all aspects except their duff air conditioning.