Network Rail says the railway between Newport and Cardiff Central will close from Friday 20 March, and remain closed throughout the weekend, as it completes vital upgrades to the South Wales Main Line. During this time, buses will replace trains.

The infrastructure manager is encouraging passengers travelling between Newport and Cardiff Central Station to check before they travel this March while it carries out essential track renewal work.

The work, taking place between Monday 16 and Sunday 22 March, will see teams replacing sections of track on one of the busiest parts of the railway in South Wales.

To safely carry out the upgrades, some changes to train services will be in place during the week, with a reduced number of tracks available between Newport and Cardiff Central. This will affect services operated by Transport for Wales (TfW), GWR and CrossCountry.

The railway will be fully closed between Newport and Cardiff Central from 23:00 Friday 20 March to 05:00 Monday 23 March, when engineers will complete the most intensive part of the work. During this time, buses will replace trains.

Separate engineering work between Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay on Sunday 22 March will also affect some Cardiff Valley Lines services, with rail replacement buses in operation on several routes.

Passengers are encouraged to check before they travel using the TfW app or website. The latest travel information is also available on the Great Western Railway and CrossCountry websites, as well as at nationalrail.co.uk.

Nick Millington, Route Director for Network Rail Wales and Borders, said: “Renewing the track between Newport and Cardiff is essential to keeping this busy stretch of railway safe and reliable for the passengers and freight services that rely on it every day.

“We’ve worked closely with our train operating partners to keep services running during the week, with some timetable alterations, while carrying out the most intensive work over the weekend.”

“We know this will affect journeys and we apologise for the disruption it may cause. Our teams will be working as quickly and safely as possible to complete these vital upgrades, and we thank passengers for their patience while we carry out this important work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at TfW, said: “We’re encouraging all passengers travelling between Cardiff and Newport to check their journey in advance, as many of our services will be affected throughout the weekend. This includes trains to Manchester, Holyhead, Cheltenham, Ebbw Vale, Maesteg and some Valleys services on Sunday.

To help keep passengers moving, we’ll be running a comprehensive rail replacement bus service, with buses operating roughly every five minutes between Cardiff and Newport. Our teams will be on hand throughout the weekend to support customers and help them reach their destination.”

Kay Davies, GWR Station Manager for South Wales, said: “We apologise for the impact this work will have on customers, but this is a really important investment in the long-term reliability of our railway. 

“Timetables have been amended for these dates to reflect the change to services, including a reduced train service between Cardiff Central and London Paddington. 

“If your usual train is affected, replacement buses will be running, but please allow extra time as bus journeys will take a little longer than the train.”