North Wales’ Conwy Valley Line, which runs from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, is set to reopen next Monday (28th Sept) following the completion of Network Rail’s £2.2m investment into protecting the railway from severe weather and flooding.
The line was washed away because of flooding twice in the past two years, which has meant lengthy closures for passengers and local communities while the railway has been repaired.
The developments to help better protect the vital line have been entirely designed and built by Network Rail and involved the installation of 16,000 tonnes of rock armour alongside almost 2km of railway between Tal y Cafn and Llanrwst. This will help advance the resilience of the railway during the ever more frequent flooding events in the valley.
This new rock armour slows the water down to stop it from carrying away the railway embankment and leaving the track suspended in the air, which leads to trains being stopped for prolonged amounts of time.
At the beginning of August, the newly protected Conwy Valley line, was truly tested by Storm Francis. Heavy rain meant the site was flooded, but the railway itself was not damaged during the extreme weather.
Now the resilience work has been complete Transport for Wales will carry out driver refreshes training following the long closure of the line ahead of services restarting.
Bill Kelly, Network Rail’s Route Director for Wales and Borders, said: “I am delighted that the Conwy Valley Line is now better protected as extreme weather has forced it to be closed too often in recent years.
“We have worked around the clock in recent months to not just repair the line, but to make it more resilient so we can help to prevent these long closures in the future.
“I would like to thank passengers and the communities we serve along the line for their patience as this significant investment was delivered.”
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “The Conwy Valley line is a vital link for many local communities in north Wales, and this investment will improve the resilience of that crucial route during extreme weather.
“Upgrading the railway defences will help prevent lengthy closures for passengers, avoid frustrating rail replacement services, and deliver a more reliable timetable people can depend on.”
Martyn Brennan, Operations Director at Transport for Wales, said: “It is great to see our colleagues in Network Rail progressing with work on the Conwy Valley line and we will reinstate rail services on 28th September, following driver route refresher training.
“I’d like to thank customers for their patience and ask that they continue to check services online. We will continue to provide transport links using replacement buses.”
