Civils and stations

Conwy Valley Line to partly reopen tomorrow

The Conwy Valley line is set to reopen for passengers ahead of the National Eisteddfod in Llanrwst, Network Rail has announced.

Llandudno Junction to Llanrwst North will re-open for passengers tomorrow and the remainder of the line will reopen on Wednesday 24 July.

The line, which runs between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog, was closed in March due to significant flooding, caused by a high tide and low-pressure system following storm Gareth.

Bill Kelly, route director for Network Rail, Wales and Borders, said: “We would like to thank passengers and the local community for their patience while we worked to repair the extensive damage to the Conwy Valley Line.

“We recognise the importance of the National Eisteddfod to Wales and we are delighted to be able to reopen the line for passengers ahead of this fantastic event.

“We have worked closely with our partner, Griffiths, to complete this major repair work on the line and with Transport for Wales, to keep passengers moving with rail replacement buses during the closure.”

The extensive damage meant that six miles of track, Dolgarrog station, ten level crossings and nine culverts required significant repair.

Since the closure of the line, teams have removed washout materials, refurbished level crossings, and installed flood culverts and constructed embankments to safely restore the track.

Dolgarrog station will remain closed for the time being while the flood damaged platform is replaced.

As well as major restoration work, Network Rail has increased the speed limit from 30mph to 45mph between Dolgarrog and Llanrwst North.

The rail body claim the project focused on sustainability, with 91 per cent of the washout material removed from site during the project recycled and approximately 5,000 tonnes of topsoil reused on the site.

All staff working on the project are within one-hour travel distance to the site and all vegetation and tree stumps have been given to a local recycling facility in the Valley to be turned in to biomass.