The end of March will see the start of eight months of work to electrify over 15km of railway line as part of the next phase of the South Wales Metro.

The work will take place on the Rhymney Valley railway line, where brand-new trains Class 231s trains were introduced in 2023 as part of Transport for Wales (TfW) £800 million investment in new trains.

Included in the electrification work is:

• Installation of Overhead Line Equipment.
• Upgrading the tracks and signalling upgrades.
• Improvements to stations, including enhancing station sidings where trains are stored.

Once the electrification has been completed, the Class 231s will be replaced by Class 756 electric trains
that provide a faster, greener, and more accessible transport.

During the electrification works, there will be several periods when the railway line will need to be closed, including two 6-week closures from 12th April to 23rd May and 19th July to 31st August. During these closures, rail-replacement bus services will be in operation.

Elsewhere on the South Wales Metro, in February, preparations were being to electrify 39km of lines on the Coryton and Lower Rhymney lines, which would bring the total up to 155km. Once those lines are electrified, tri-mode trains will start running on the Coryton and Caerphilly to Penarth routes this spring.

Dan Tipper, Chief Infrastructure Officer at TfW said: We are excited to embark on our transformation programme to upgrade the Rhymney line as part of the South Wales Metro project, aimed at transforming public transport in South Wales. We’ll be carrying out major infrastructure improvements on the line, including the installation of Overhead Line Equipment to electrify the line and upgrades to local railway stations. We appreciate the patience of our customers and neighbours living near the railway as we carry out these upgrades. We understand that rail closures and engineering work may cause disruption for those who rely on our services and for those living close to the tracks and would like to urge all customers to check before travelling during this period.”