Chepstow to Gloucester railway line to get £25m resilience upgrade

The railway line between Chepstow and Gloucester will be closed for ten weeks this summer, from Monday, 18th July until Saturday, 3rd September, to allow Network Rail to carry out a major £25m upgrade.

Over the last two years, there have been five major landslips along the line which runs alongside the Severn Estuary where it’s exposed to rain, wind, and sea.

The landslips have been attributed to climate change and more frequent extreme weather events.

As a result, there have been extended closures of the line and speed restrictions that have affected over 200,000 trains.

Severn estuary drone shot3 — Drone shot of the Severn estuary. Credit Network Rail.

The work includes removing approximately 30,000 tonnes of material from the cliff face along a three-mile stretch of the railway near Lydney. A state-of-the-art mesh and bolt system will then be installed to protect the line from falling debris.

During the first two weeks of the closure, from Monday, 18th July to Saturday, 30th July, the line between Chepstow to Severn Tunnel Junction will also be closed. This is to allow the railway track across Chepstow Viaduct over the River Wye to be replaced.

Network Rail is working with Transport for Wales and CrossCountry to keep passengers moving while work is underway. Cross Country train services between Nottingham, Birmingham New Street, and Cardiff will terminate at Gloucester. Customers travelling between the Midlands and Cardiff Central can travel on GWR train services via Bristol Parkway. Buses will run every hour between Gloucester and Newport, stopping at all stations, and a bus service will also operate between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction, during the two-week closure of that section of the line.

Network Rail is holding a drop-in session on Wednesday, 25th May, between 5.30 pm and 8.00 pm at the Drill Hall in Lower Church Street, Chepstow. The Network Rail project team will be on hand to answer questions about the work to improve the resilience and upgrade of the track between Newport and Gloucester.

Severn estuary landslip clean-up. Credit Network Rail.

Bill Kelly, Wales & Borders route director at Network Rail said: “This is a vital passenger and freight link so we must act now to protect the line from extreme weather events and our changing climate.

“We’ve carefully planned this work to take place during the summer holidays to minimise disruption for those who rely on the line for work and education. I’d like to thank everyone for their patience as we work to protect this important stretch of railway and make passengers’ journeys more reliable.”

Rope teams working at high risk area Little Hagloe. Credit Network Rail.

Jan Chaudhry van der Velde, Managing Director of Transport for Wales, said: “Work on the rail infrastructure to improve weather resilience has become more urgent, as climate change effects and severe weather have disrupted train services on several occasions in recent years.

“We will be providing buses in place of trains during this work to keep passengers moving, and thank passenger in advance for their patience. The long-term benefits will bring more reliable train services. During the works, we ask customers to check before setting off at https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/.”

CrossCountry’s Regional Director, Tom Birch, said: “This line is crucial for both local rail journeys and connectivity between Wales and England, so ensuring its resilience against weather-related events is important for everyone. We’d like to thank customers for their patience while the works are completed and look forward to the quick return of our regular train services.”