We’re upgrading the railway between Newport and Ebbw Vale so that passengers will benefit from more rail services in the future on the line.
Funded by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, supported by a loan from the Welsh Government, the £70m investment will allow a new hourly passenger service between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport.
A £17m signalling upgrade – funded by Network Rail via the Department for Transport – will be delivered at the southern end of the line.
How long will the project take to complete?
Work started in early 2022 and will last until late 2023. A huge programme of work is being carried out along the entire length of the line including:
- managing vegetation alongside the railway
- setting up site compounds and access points near to the railway which will be used throughout the duration of the project
- laying approximately 2 miles of new track between Aberbeeg and Crosskeys to create a 7-mile passing loop which will be brought into use during 2023
- building new platforms at Llanhilleth and Newbridge stations and extending the existing platforms so that they can potentially accommodate longer trains in the future
- improving facilities for passengers at Llanhilleth and Newbridge stations
- making Llanhilleth station fully accessible for the first time with the installation of a brand-new footbridge and lifts
- upgrading the signalling in the Gaer and Rogerstone areas of Newport
- closing Park Junction Signal Box and moving control of the signalling to the Wales Route Operating Centre in Cardiff
- replacing the rail bridge over Bridge Street in Newbridge
When will this work be carried out?
Work is taking place during the daytime and overnight, as that’s often the safest times for our staff to work. There will be occasions where we work 24/7 which will mean no trains will be running.
The next dates that the Ebbw Vale line will be closed to passenger trains are as follows:
- Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 March
- Saturday 25 to Thursday 30 March (inclusive)
- Sunday 23 April to Sunday 30 April (inclusive)
- Sunday 21 May
- Wednesday 24 May to Sunday 11 June (inclusive)
- Sunday 18 June
- Sunday 25 June
- Sunday 2 July
- Sunday 9 July
- 周日16 July
There may be additional dates during 2023 but these dates haven’t yet been confirmed.
在这些时期,公共汽车将取代火车s between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central. Our advice to passengers is to check National Rail Enquiries or Transport for Wales for more information before travelling.
We will update this page with further details of dates and locations where we’ll be working throughout the duration of the project.
We thank passengers for their patience throughout this work and have planned several shorter closures of the line to reduce the impact on communities and passengers as much as possible.
Working with our partners
We are working closely with Transport for Wales, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Caerphilly County Borough Council and Newport City Council to ensure passengers, our lineside neighbours, the local community and local stakeholders are all aware of our plans.
Major upgrade work 22 – 30 October 2022
The Ebbw Vale line temporarily closed for nine-days in October while teams worked day and night to carry out major upgrades along the entire line.
At Newbridge station, a rail bridge over Bridge Street was replaced using a 650-tonne crane; new track was installed, and platform extensions were carried out.
South of Newbridge station, a 40m x 20m retaining wall next to Riverside Park was taken down with approx. 250 lorry loads of spoil removed before the embankment was regraded. Engineers then installed 415m of brand-new track.
At Llanhilleth station, teams worked hard to install the foundations of the new platform on the southern end of the station.
Along the line, 53km of signalling cable was also installed as well as four trackside cabinets which will house new signalling equipment next to the railway.
Background to the reopening of the Ebbw Vale line
The Ebbw Vale line reopened in 2008 after being closed for 40 years and was instantly popular with passengers. In 2014, a brand-new station at Pye Corner opened serving passengers at the southern end of the line and in 2015, approximately 1.5miles of new track was laid to extend the railway from Ebbw Vale Parkway to a brand-new station at Ebbw Vale Town.
The Welsh Government committed funding to enhance the line to enable an additional train service to run between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport. This will open up jobs, training and leisure opportunities to people in the communities along the line.
Frequently asked questions
The garages that are currently located in this area will be demolished to make way for the new station entrance.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"Why were lifts chosen instead of ramps for the new footbridge at Llanhilleth station? ","description":"
Accessibility \u2013 Feedback from previous Access for All schemes in Wales has highlighted that people with reduced mobility have a preference of lifts over ramps. This is largely down to the reduced travel distances that a lift solution offers over a ramped option.<\/p>\n
Construction footprint \u2013 The introduction of ramps requires a larger platform footprint to accommodate the structure given the lengths of ramps. This results in a longer construction programme on site. The topography at Llanhilleth would make it difficult to achieve the extended footbridge required.<\/p>\n
Planning \u2013 Footbridges with ramps tend to be large, unsightly structures making achieving prior planning approval less straight forward than for lifts which have the advantage of adopting various cladding options for the lift shafts.<\/p>\n
Costs \u2013 Given the increased foundation footprint and the length of ramps, there has been little evidence to show that a ramped option is a more efficient option than a footbridge with lifts.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"I live near to the railway. Will I be disturbed by this work? ","description":"
We know that we will be working in very close proximity to thousands of homes and businesses next to the Ebbw Vale line and we apologise in advance if you are disturbed during this work.<\/p>\n
We will be carrying out a range of measures to try and reduce disruption as much as possible including positioning lighting towers away from houses; switching off engines when they\u2019re not in use; briefing our staff on behaving considerately whilst working near residential properties and installing acoustic barriers around generators.<\/p>\n
We would like to thank you in advance for your patience throughout this project.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"What will the additional train service look like? ","description":"
Once we have completed all the work on this project, Transport for Wales will be able to introduce a new service between Ebbw Vale Town and Newport. The existing service between Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff will still run which will result in a half hourly service on the line \u2013 one train to\/from Cardiff and one train to\/from Newport.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"Which new track will be used for trains towards Ebbw Vale Town and which will be used for trains towards Cardiff\/Newport? ","description":"
The existing platforms at Llanhilleth and Newbridge stations will be used for trains towards Cardiff\/Newport and the new platforms at Llanhilleth and Newbridge stations will be used for trains towards Ebbw Vale Town.<\/p>\n"},{"is_icon":false,"icon":"","title":"Will there be additional car parking at either Llanhilleth, Newbridge or Crosskeys stations on completion of the project? ","description":"
Llanhilleth \u2013 We will need to take over approximately 15 car parking spaces in the main car park for the duration of the scheme for welfare provision and as a storage area. Once we\u2019ve finished our work, these spaces will return to normal. On the Miner\u2019s Institute side, the car parking spaces will be reconfigured and electric car charging points will be installed.<\/p>\n
Newbridge \u2013 There are no plans to increase the number of car parking spaces on either the town side of the station or within the existing car park.<\/p>\n
Crosskeys \u2013 There are no plans to create a car park at Crosskeys station.<\/p>\n"}]" :key="i" :i="i" :title="item.title" :icon-name="item.icon" :description="item.description" :is-expanded="slotProps.activeItem === i ? true : false" @expand="slotProps.handleExpand">
Get in touch
For any comments or questions regarding the project, please contact our 24-hr national helpline on03457 11 41 41or email us atcrwales@networkrail.co.uk.