Network Rail is thanking passengers and the local community for their patience during the huge upgrade along the entire line

Monday the 31st of October saw Network Rail re-open the Ebbw Vale line for passenger services following a nine-day closure. The vast upgrade project saw engineering teams work 10,000 hours around the clock from the 22nd to the 30th of October.

The work has seen major upgrades carried out across the entire line which means that hourly services between Ebbw Vale and Newport will be able to operate on the project’s completion.

The replacement of a rail bridge over Bridge Street at Newbridge station saw a 650-tonne crane utilised alongside installing new track and extensions to platforms completed.

The project also saw a 40m x 20m retaining wall south of Newbridge station and next to Riverside Park, taken down creating 250 lorry loads of spoil ahead of the embankment undergoing regrading. Following this work, engineers carried out the installation of 200m of brand-new track.

Llanhilleth station also saw teams hard at work installing foundations for the new platform for the southern end of the station.  20Km of signalling cable has also been installed along the line alongside four trackside cabinets which contain new signalling equipment and are positioned next to the railway.

In order to keep disruption to a minimum, work was carried out overnight using battery-powered generators at the site compounds.

Tom Edwards, Project Manager at Network Rail, said:“We would like to thank passengers and the local communities along the line for their patience as we delivered this work.

“We know there is never a right time to carry out work of this nature but closing the line and Bridge Street road for a period of nine days has allowed our contractors unlimited access to the railway to complete a significant amount of work.”

Funding for the £70m project has been provided by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council using a loan from the Welsh government. The Department for Transport and Network Rail will also add £17m which will cover the signalling upgrade.

Work will be ongoing on the Ebbw Vale line into late summer 2023 and information regarding future line closures will be given to passengers closer to the time.