Pont Briwet to be closed to trains until 2015 [Update - now reopened as of Sept 2014]

Xenophon PCDGS · 20 Mar 2014

snowball said:
Edit: A news item on the NR site, new today, says the line from Barmouth to Harlech will reopen on 1 May, but says nothing about Pont Briwet or Harlech to Pwllheli.

You would think that Network Rail would be precise as to how the various matters affecting the line southwards from Pwllheli would be timetabled at this point of time.

RailUK Forums

snowball · 20 Mar 2014

Railnews also reporting on the reopening to Harlech but saying nothing about further north.

merlodlliw · 20 Mar 2014

Paul Sidorczuk said:
You would think that Network Rail would be precise as to how the various matters affecting the line southwards from Pwllheli would be timetabled at this point of time.

Eight weeks on Saturday to new May timetable, I agree Paul,NR must realise the world does not stop at Harlech. Info would be helpful. NR are very quick at good news stories.Presume after 1st May the free for all to use buses will continue from/to Harlech.

snowball · 21 Mar 2014

Daily Post is reporting the 1st May reopening to Harlech and says Pont Briwet will open "later in May".

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Now the BBC is saying "early summer".

merlodlliw · 22 Mar 2014

snowball said:
Daily Post is reporting the 1st May reopening to Harlech and says Pont Briwet will open "later in May".

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Now the BBC is saying "early summer".

I reckon its a bit of guesswork on who the media speak to or are officially told,Summer officially starts in June, Network Rail appear desperate for good news stories about the Cambrian , up to now Pont Briwet without the winter storms appears a total cock up,in my opinion.

Gareth Marston · 22 Mar 2014

merlodlliw said:
I reckon its a bit of guesswork on who the media speak to or are officially told,Summer officially starts in June, Network Rail appear desperate for good news stories about the Cambrian , up to now Pont Briwet without the winter storms appears a total cock up,in my opinion.

The storms have certainly eased any pressure being put on NR but we have to remember the primary driving force for this project has been local politicians who want a two lane highway not a single lane toll bridge over the river. The work is being lead by Gwynedd CC.

Xenophon PCDGS · 22 Mar 2014

Gareth Marston said:
The storms have certainly eased any pressure being put on NR but we have to remember the primary driving force for this project has been local politicians who want a two lane highway not a single lane toll bridge over the river. The work is being lead by Gwynedd CC.

This sounds very much like the modern replacement local authority Shard Bridge across the River Wyre which replaced the former toll bridge and speaking from experience, was a great improvement.

snowball · 27 Mar 2014

Here's a Gwynedd Council press release which gives slightly fuller detail of the reasons for the decision on the convoy system and no temporary bridge.

merlodlliw · 1 Apr 2014

May opening of the bridge is now ruled out, The County Council managing the work on the bridge give early Summer, The local regional Daily Post has the story below,

Daily Post on Line,written by Eryl Crump Senior Reporter 31/3/2014
Buses will continue to replace trains on a vital railway link for longer than envisaged, the Daily Post can reveal.

Engineers had hoped to complete the new railway bridge over the Afon Dwyryd between Llandecwyn and Penrhyndeudraeth in time for the May timetable change.

But Gwynedd Council, which is managing the replacement of the 154-year-old Pont Briwet, said the railway bridge is likely to be operational by “early summer”.

A council spokesman said: “The contractors are currently reviewing the work programme for the project with the aim of accelerating progress on the rail bridge.

Click to expand...

“Whilst the exact date will be confirmed in due course, at present it is expected that the rail bridge will be operational by early summer 2014, with the road bridge completed by December 2014.”

A Network Rail spokeswoman added: “The railway beyond Harlech will remain closed as a result of the issues that forced the closure of Pont Briwet in December.

“We are liaising with Gwynedd Council, who are delivering the new road and rail bridge, and we look forward to re-opening the railway once complete.”

Railway insiders have told the Daily Post this is likely to be mid-July at the earliest.

One said: “The bad weather at the start of the year has caused the delay but work is progressing now and large components for the bridge have been delivered to the site.”

The Cambrian Coast line north of Harlech to Pwllheli has been closed since early November after monitoring equipment detected movement to Pont Briwet viaduct during construction works for the replacement bridge.

The bridge was scheduled to remain open whilst the new bridge was constructed immediately alongside it.

Youngsters use the train to go to school and the closure of the bridge means an eight-mile detour through Maentwrog.

The stormy weather in January also closed the line south of Harlech although Network Rail are confident work to repair the line north of Barmouth will be completed by May.

Last week Gwynedd Council revealed they had scrapped plans to install a temporary road bridge and have instigated a convoy system along the narrow A496 between Llandecwyn and Maentwrog.

The move has angered local residents who have demanded a temporary bridge.

The original Pont Briwet crossing was a wooden viaduct built in the 1860s when the railway line was first built.

The new bridge will be a modern structure capable of carrying heavier trains at a faster speed, as well as a new road crossing and a footpath.

link http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pont-briwet-buses-replace-vital-6897948

ATWs Summer timetable will be an interesting read as its already gone to press

PaxVobiscum · 1 Apr 2014

That's disappointing- I was hoping it would be open before the beginning of July.

Jones · 2 Apr 2014

Spoke to the driver on the replacement bus tonight, he said they are covering from Barmouth till May and then Harlech to Pwllheli is bus operated till next April!

Can this be right?

Another year till north of Harlech sees a train?

Xenophon PCDGS · 2 Apr 2014

Are there now any infrastructural works still to be completed on the line section between Barmouth and Harlech to repair any damage that may have been caused by the winter storms ?

merlodlliw · 2 Apr 2014

Jones said:
Jones said:

Spoke to the driver on the replacement bus tonight, he said they are covering from Barmouth till May and then Harlech to Pwllheli is bus operated till next April!

Can this be right?

Another year till north of Harlech sees a train?

Click to expand...

That makes it one and a half years without trains.

snowball · 2 Apr 2014

merlodlliw said:
That makes it one and a half years without trains.

It would if it were true.

Edit: it seems there's a public meeting today:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-26849476

Penmorfa · 2 Apr 2014

This has been on the National Rail site for several days:

Network Rail are working on a programme of repairs to fully re-open the line by mid-May 2014.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/today.aspx

Let's hope this is what happens

merlodlliw · 20 Apr 2014

from yesterdays Daily Post written by Eryl Crump

Work is continuing around the clock to complete repairs to a storm damaged railway.

Engineers are about two weeks ahead of schedule as Network Rail aims to complete a massive £10m programme of repairs on the Cambrian Coast railway between Barmouth and Harlech.

People living nearby told the Daily Post the track is being laid with huge trains bringing in special equipment and ballast to carry out the work.

Teresa Challenor of the Morwendon House guest house in Llanaber near Barmouth said: The engineers are working night and day to complete the job. Watching the machines at work is fascinating and it will be good to see trains running along this line again.

Januarys extreme weather washed away ballast, breached sea defences and deposited tons of debris on the Cambrian Coast line which runs from Machynlleth to Pwllheli.

Mark Langman, Network Rail route managing director for Wales, said Llanaber was one of the worst affected sites.

For the repairs, 40 tonnes of debris have been removed and 6,000 pieces of rock armour that form the sea protection have been replaced or repaired.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/work-repair-cambrian-coast-railway-7008505

Xenophon PCDGS · 26 Apr 2014

Has an exact date now been given when trains will begin running again on the Barmouth to Harlech line section ?

Parallel · 26 Apr 2014

I read on the national rail/Arriva website (can't remember which) that trains will start running again from the 2nd May between Barmouth and Harlech. However journeys for after this date to/from the stations as in between are still showing as bus replacement. Hopefully it will be cleared up soon - I'm going there next week and coming back the week after!

snowball · 26 Apr 2014

That sounds like a day's slippage - I thought the previously announced date was 1st May.

merlodlliw · 27 Apr 2014

Paul Sidorczuk said:
Paul Sidorczuk said:

Has an exact date now been given when trains will begin running again on the Barmouth to Harlech line section ?

Click to expand...

Network Rail (Wales) gave 1st May, but its gone very quiet again, I have not seen any ATW comment for a while.
North Wales Rail Newsboard has its ears to the ground,so Tuesdays edition may tell us something.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

merlodlliw said:
merlodlliw said:

Network Rail (Wales) gave 1st May, but its gone very quiet again, I have not seen any ATW comment for a while.
North Wales Rail Newsboard has its ears to the ground,so Tuesdays edition may tell us something.

Click to expand...

Timetable one (ATW) has been held, this also is the Wrexham General timetable,so I wonder if a supplement will come out for the Wrexham line,
I appreciate the Cambrian problems, but in my opinion the Salop/Chester line should be in table four,same as the Bidston line.

Parallel · 27 Apr 2014

From National Rail website:

Following damage to the railway caused by the storm surges and subsequent flooding in December, the line is currently closed between Barmouth and Pwllheli.

Railway engineers are working hard to repair severe damage at a number of locations, including Barmouth and Criccieth. Pictures of the damage can be seen here, here and here.

Up to and including Thursday 1 May

Buses are replacing trains between Barmouth and Pwllheli.

From Friday 2 May onwards

The line is expected to re-open between Barmouth and Harlech on Friday 2 May. Buses will continue to replace trains between Harlech and Pwllheli until further notice.

Twitter hashtag: #Pwllheli
To check your journey up to and including 1 May, please use the National Rail Enquiries real time Journey Planner. The Journey Planner is being updated with services from 2 May onwards, please check back later.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/66469.aspx

Whether this is still accurate or not, I don't know.

robschopper · 27 Apr 2014

Maybe that the line is opened on the 1st, but the crews haven't been up there for over four months, so may need to have route refresher on the 1st, ready to start servce on the 2nd??

merlodlliw · 28 Apr 2014

Parallel said:
From National Rail website:

Whether this is still accurate or not, I don't know.

Click to expand...

The interesting wording is "Expected"

Parallel · 28 Apr 2014

From ATW twitter:

The line is due to re-open to Harlech in early May, we are awaiting confirmation from Network Rail at the moment.

"Early May" isn't very far away... Everything just seems so "meh" about getting this part of the line open again.

abirm873 · 28 Apr 2014

This picture here shows the current progress on the bridge from about 2 weeks ago, dated April 16th 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/63164772@N05/13895699703/in/photostream/

From the looks of it, it is progressing well however I can't see it being ready in the near future, probably looking at June/July before it is anywhere near being operational. The loss of trains for months on the Northern section of the Cambrian Coast must now be starting to be a real pain for residents.

Xenophon PCDGS · 29 Apr 2014

abirm873 said:
This picture here shows the current progress on the bridge from about 2 weeks ago, dated April 16th 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/63164772@N05/13895699703/in/photostream/

From the looks of it, it is progressing well however I can't see it being ready in the near future, probably looking at June/July before it is anywhere near being operational. The loss of trains for months on the Northern section of the Cambrian Coast must now be starting to be a real pain for residents.

Has anyone been to the site in the last couple of days and can give their updated views on this ?

0B00 · 30 Apr 2014

robschopper said:
Maybe that the line is opened on the 1st, but the crews haven't been up there for over four months, so may need to have route refresher on the 1st, ready to start servce on the 2nd??

A 158 unit was noted in Harlech station today by one of my coach drivers operating the replacement coach service.

sprinterguy · 30 Apr 2014

0B00 said:
A 158 unit was noted in Harlech station today by one of my coach drivers operating the replacement coach service.

Yep, test runs between Barmouth and Harlech commenced yesterday, which are also acting as route refreshers for train crew.

merlodlliw · 1 May 2014

From Yesterdays Daily Post.

Gwynedd: Trains back on track after £10m repairs to wrecked railway
Apr 30, 2014 11:54 By Hywel Trewyn
Four months after the storm, Network Rail and Arriva Trains are ready to re-launch services between Barmouth and Harlech on Thursday

link http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/gwynedd-trains-back-track-after-7052009

LNW-GW Joint · 1 May 2014

Barmouth-Harlech now open again.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-27226047

Pont Briwet to be closed to trains until 2015 [Update - now reopened as of Sept 2014]

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