‘Emergency’ rail work to cause major disruption to services
TRAINS between South Wales and London will be suspended this weekend for what’s thought to be the first time ever, because Network Rail is undertaking “emergency engineering work” at Reading.
On Saturday, the usual train service to London Paddington – every half an hour from Cardiff – will be replaced with an hourly train from Swansea and Cardiff to Oxford, where passengers will change to a commuter train to London Marylebone.
Cardiff to London will take about 3 hours 40 minutes, roughly 90 minutes longer than usual.
On Sunday, Network Rail will also close the railway between Cardiff and Newport. Passengers from Swansea will have to leave the train at Cardiff, take a bus to Bristol Parkway, catch a train to Oxford and another train to Marylebone. Swansea to London will take about five hours instead of about three hours.
Passenger campaign group Railfuture Wales said trains between Oxford and Marylebone could be overcrowded.
Network Rail usually plans engineering activities, including electrification work along the Great Western main line, well ahead. This enables train operators to organise diversions along different routes – into alternative London stations if necessary.
Network Rail declined our request for an explanation of why this weekend’s emergency engineering work is needed. However, we understand Network Rail has encountered significant difficulties with commissioning the newly installed electrification equipment at Reading.
Power was due to be switched on after a weekend closure at Reading in midSeptember but Network Rail did not complete a review of electrical safety procedures in time, causing the scheduled work to be deferred.
Peter Kingsbury, chair of Railfuture Wales, said the situation was “very regrettable” and hoped that South Wales would never be left without trains to and from London again.
“To Railfuture’s best knowledge, this is the first time that no through trains have run from South Wales to the UK capital for an entire weekend,” he said.
“The need for emergency engineering works to be very occasionally undertaken is understood, but previously a direct service to London has always been maintained by diverting trains.
“This weekend the need to change trains at Oxford onto a slower service, which may be overcrowded, will mean that over one million people living in the Newport to Swansea corridor will be offered a very inferior service.
“It is hoped that if further works are planned on the route between South Wales and London a through service is maintained for the duration of the work.”
A spokesman for Ken Skates said: “We are extremely disappointed by the very short notice given for the disruption to services. The UK Conservative Government need to bring this project under immediate control to deliver the improvements promised with the minimum disruption possible for passengers.
“The impact on services is not acceptable and businesses, communities and rail users on both side of the Severn bridge will rightly be asking why this has happened.”