Engineers have been working 24 hours a day to restore the railway after a fire last weekend
Engineers have been working around the clock to get services back up and running(Image: Network Rail)
Normal train services expected to resume between Cardiff and Newport from Saturday (August 8) following round-the-clock repairs to extensive damage caused by a lineside fire last weekend.
The fire, which broke out next to the railway at Newport on Saturday, August 1, caused “extensive” damage to rail infrastructure, including signalling equipment and overhead electric power. Network Rail says that engineers have worked 24 hours a day since to restore the railway.
They added that the fire had caused significant damage to signalling systems and the overhead line equipment that powers electric trains. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here
It has caused a week of disruption for rail passengers with delays on many of the main routes in and out of south Wales.
Network Rail says that over the last seven days, teams have worked non-stop to remove and replace damaged signalling, telecoms, overhead line and power equipment; replacing 11 kilometres of cable and 300 metres of cable troughing.
With the recovery work now complete, the railway is expected to fully reopen in time for the start of service on Saturday 8 August, allowing passenger and freight services to return to normal.
Nick Millington, route director at Network Rail Wales and Borders, said: “This was an incredibly harmful fire which caused extensive damage to both our overhead line and signalling equipment.
“Our teams have shown unwavering dedication throughout the recovery, working tirelessly to safely repair the railway and restore services as quickly as possible.
“Within hours of the fire, we were able to reopen relief lines, under safe conditions, allowing some trains to keep moving. A reduced service has continued throughout the week while our teams carried out the major repairs, and we’re pleased to now be able to fully reopen the railway and welcome the return of normal services from Saturday.
“I’d like to thank every colleague involved in what has been a significant recovery effort, as well as our passengers and freight customers for their patience and understanding during the disruption.”
Marie Daly, chief operating officer at Transport for Wales, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding over the last week with limited and disrupted rail services due to the ongoing repair work following the fire.
“Network Rail have worked around the clock to reopen the line and we’ll be running a full service from Saturday 8 August.
“We advise customers to continue to check for the latest information before travelling over the weekend, as full service resumes.”
Hannah Shackleford, Wales and West of England regional development manager at GWR, said: “We know how much our customers and communities in south Wales depend on this route, and the disruption caused by this fire has impacted many. We are grateful to Network Rail for the extraordinary round-the-clock effort that has made it possible to restore services so quickly, and we look forward to welcoming passengers back to normal services from Saturday.
“Helping communities to prosper is central to everything we do, and a reliable, fully operational railway between Cardiff and Newport is vital to the people and businesses who rely on it every day. We’d like to thank our customers sincerely for their patience throughout the week.”
Passengers are advised to continue checking their journeys at nationalrail.co.uk before travelling, as there may still be some residual disruption at the start of the weekend.
