Trains may stop running in Welsh heatwave peak with ‘essential travel’ plea issued

Rail services have been cancelled due to the weather and Great Western Railway says it will be ‘amending services’ later in the week

The extreme weather warning in place for Wales this week is affecting travel as train services have been cancelled and further disruption is expected. Transport for Wales (TfW) has cancelled all trains along two busy routes due to the forecasted severe weather.

Great Western Rail has also warned customers of only essential travel on Wednesday and Thursday.

There are red and amber weather warnings in place for extreme heat across Wales from Monday, June 22 until Thursday, June 25. National Rail has warned that services may be disrupted as heat can cause overhead lines to expand and sag, line-side fires and also cause rails to buckle.

Hot weather can also cause rail services to put speed restrictions in place which may cause delays or cancellations. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Due to forecasted severe weather between Pontypridd and Cardiff Bay TfW rail services were cancelled on Monday from 5am until 11.59pm.

The transport service has also cancelled trains in both directions between Heath Low Level and Penarth from 5am on Monday until 8pm on Saturday, June 27.

Whilst the services are cancelled a shuttle will operate servicing Coryton, Whitchurch, Rhiwbina, Birchgrove, Ty Glas and Heath Low Level in both directions. For passengers travelling towards Cardiff Central or Rhymney, change at Heath Low Level and walk to Heath High Level for connecting train services.

GWR has confirmed that they will be amending services running at the hottest times of the day but said the correct train timetable will not be shown until the day of travel. They said the changes would mean fewer trains and slightly longer journey times during the warmest periods of each day.

Instead, they are easing ticket restrictions for those with tickets to travel on Wednesday and Thursday. Tickets for both days can be used on Monday, Tuesday, and up to and including Friday.

National Rail has given advice to passengers who are travelling during the heatwave:

• Check before you travel and allow more time for your journey
• Carry water with you. There are also water refill stations at all Network Rail managed stations and some other larger stations.
• If you feel unwell at the station, don’t board a train, please seek assistance from station staff or use the help point.

WR and Network Rail Performance Director, Daryn McCombe, said: “We want to keep our customers safe during this period of extreme heat, which is why we are taking the precautionary step of amending services at the hottest times of day. We know this is disruptive and we’re sorry for the inconvenience it will cause, but customer safety must come first.

“We’d encourage everyone planning to travel on Wednesday and Thursday to travel earlier in the week or later, allow extra time and bring water with them.”