Network Rail is on the brink of completing work on a £48m project to switch the Loughor Viaduct near Swansea and redouble a 5.25-mile stretch of line running through Gowerton.
The Gowerton redoubling project, funded by the Welsh Government in partnership with the South West Wales Integrated Transport Consortium (SWWITCH), will remove the present bottleneck created by the stretch of single line and supply capacity to run more trains at some point.
The new deck has now been launched around the Loughor estuary and secured in its temporary alignment. The present deck would be removed at Easter and the recent deck slid into place.
Mark Langman, route managing director, Wales, said: “This project joins plenty of other rail improvement projects in South and West Wales so that they can help deliver better journeys and boost economic growth inside the area.
“The new viaduct at Loughor and the redoubling, in addition the recent station platform and footbridge at Gowerton, are portion of a package of station and infrastructure improvements as we try to make rail travel more well-off and engaging to the general public.
“As well as making it easier to travel to and from West Wales, they’ll help to enhance local employment and we might want to thank people for his or her patience while we improve the viaduct and lay a second track.”
Transport Minister Carl Sargeant said: “These improvements are good news for the population of West Wales as they are going to provide the capacity for a more frequent and reliable service.
“Better links between communities mean better access to employment, education training and leisure opportunities that is a key aspect of tackling economic and social deprivation, so i’m delighted that the Welsh Government has contributed £25 million to those improvement works. I wish Network Rail well with the completion of the project and thank rail users and the local people for his or her patience through the works.”
From 24 March to eight April, there’ll be a 16-day closure of the road between Swansea and Llanelli. This can enable engineers to finalise the works to redouble the track, provide a brand new platform and footbridge, and upgrade Duffryn level crossing and associated signalling and telecoms works.
Mr Langman added: “The nature of the work we’re doing to enhance the railway means we will only complete the project by closing the road. We understand this has an impact on people’s journeys however the changes will give us a railway with greater capacity, meaning more trains in future and less delays.
“Passengers wishing to travel in this period should confer with their train operator, as a mix of buses and trains will run between Carmarthen and Port Talbot Parkway, counting on the time and destination of journey.”