Train services between Gloucester and South Wales will be disrupted for three weeks starting on Sunday, 27th July, while engineers work on the lineside to minimise the risk of future landslips

The work will take place from 00:40 on Sunday, 27th July until 08:40 on Sunday, 17th August. During this time, engineers will work to stabilise the slopes beside the tracks with nearly 7,600 grouted rock anchors and place netting over 32,000 square metres of lineside slopes. At the same time, they will:

• Carry out track renewal and drainage improvements near Newnham Tunnel.
• Clear overgrown vegetation, repaint platform lines, and clear litter at Chepstow and Lydney stations.
• Carry out upgrades to the signalling and other improvements to the infrastructure that are part of the Gloucester Area Signalling Project (GASP).

Services are being suspended to allow engineers to work safely, with no trains running between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction throughout the closure period.

Rail-replacement bus services will provide alternative travel for CrossCountry train services between Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction via Lydney and Chepstow. Transport for Wales train services between Cheltenham and South Wales will also be affected, and rail-replacement bus services will operate between Cheltenham Spa/Gloucester and Severn Tunnel Junction via Lydney and Chepstow.

Passengers intending to travel between Gloucester and South Wales during this period should check their travel arrangements beforehand, as journey times may be extended. Online journey planners will be updated before the work starts, and station staff will be available to provide assistance. Up-to-date travel information is online at www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail.

In recent years, the railway line between Gloucester and Lydney has been prone to sudden closure due to landslips after heavy rainstorms.

“These works are part of the wider Severn Estuary Resilience Programme (SERP), a program designed to protect the railway lines in the area which – owing to its geography, geology and a changing climate is especially prone to extreme weather and coastal erosion. We have chosen this time of year so that it minimises the number of passengers and freight hauliers impacted by this essential work, while keeping our teams undertaking the work safe. This latest stage continues our commitment to improve the long-term safety and reliability in an area historically prone to landslips.”

Nick Millington, Route Director at Network Rail (Wales and Borders)