For the last seven weeks, Network Rail has been stabilising the lineside between Gloucester and Lydney in a £25m programme of work to prevent future landslips where the railway runs alongside the Severn Estuary.

Work started on Monday, 18th July, and specialist teams worked day and night to complete the work. Train services restarted on Saturday, 3rd September.

Between 2020-2021, this section of line was affected by five major landslips, which led to extended closures of the railway and the imposition of temporary speed restrictions.

During the work, over 15,000 tonnes of material was removed from the steep face of the cutting on a three-mile stretch near Lydney and taken away by train for recycling.

After the existing mesh had been removed, rope teams installed 27,000 square metres of new mesh erosion control matting, which was secured by over 1,000 soil nails drilled to a depth of 10m.

Over 700 staff from Network Rail and its contractors, Taziker, worked for more than 60,000 hours across the seven weeks, including during the two recent heatwaves when temperatures on site often exceeded 35 degrees.

To minimise the impact of the work on the environment, Taziker used 100 per cent solar-powered welfare, office cabins, and lighting, and battery-powered tools were used where possible.

Further work will continue on the site this autumn with a smaller team of 20 to 30 engineers. Next summer, Network Rail will continue with a second intensive phase of work as part of the ongoing £25m programme.

Nick Millington, interim route director at Network Rail Wales and Borders said:

“I would, firstly, like to thank passengers and the local community for their patience while we’ve carried out the first phase of this vital work here on the Severn Estuary.

“I also want to thank our teams who have safely worked around the clock in challenging, dusty conditions, in temperatures of up to 37 degrees during the hottest summer on record.

“We are committed, through projects like this, to making our railway more resilient to the effects of climate change, so we can continue to deliver low carbon, safe and efficient travel for our passengers and freight partners, for generations to come.”

Phil Jones, Taziker’s operations director, said:

“This scheme has presented many unique challenges that we were able to overcome by working collaboratively with Network Rail engineers and designers – allowing us to deliver these vital upgrades to the railway, with the minimum impact on the local community and on the environment.

“Incorporating safe and sustainable delivery methods at our worksites is extremely important to us at Taziker. On the Severn Estuary programme we carefully planned traffic reduction on local roads, run on solar power wherever possible, and partnered up with local businesses to boost the local economy.”

Marie Daly, Transport for Wales’ Chief Operating Officer, said:

“We welcome this investment by Network Rail in making the railway along the Severn Estuary safer and more resilient. The work to prevent landslips will secure the future of this important route, which provides a vital link between South Wales and Gloucestershire.

“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding while this work has taken place, and for the teams who have been working for the last seven weeks on site in difficult conditions.”

CrossCountry‘s Regional Director, Huw Margetts, said:

“We are grateful to everyone for their patience while these works were completed over the summer. Certainly, there will have been some disruption, for which we apologise, but we can now look forward to a more reliable and resilient service along the Estuary.”