Damage caused by severe weather has been repaired on a stretch of railway on the Cambrian Coast, enabling service to resume last Thursday.

The line between Barmouth and Harlech was restored in a £10M Network Rail programme after the ferocious winter storms of early January damaged rail infrastructure and sea defences.

Network Rail route managing director for Wales Mark Langman said: “The scale of damage across the Cambrian Coast following the storms was unprecedented. There were multiple breaches of the sea defences and major damage to the railway infrastructure.

“I know how important the line is to the local economy and we were determined to reopen the line as soon as it was safe to do so,” he added.

Delivered two weeks ahead of schedule, work involved removing 40t of debris and reinstating 6000 pieces of rock armour that form the sea protection. More than 1000 sleepers, 2500t of ballast and 1400m of track were also installed.

Network Rail route delivery director Graeme Tandy said: "Our engineers have done a great job. The team tasked with repairing the damage has worked tirelessly.”
Arriva Trains Wales manager Ben Davies said he was “delighted” that the reopening of this section represents an important step towards the reinstatement of the whole Cambrian Coast line in the summer.

A long term strategy – the Coastal Asset Management Plan – is currently being developed to safeguard the 55km of Wales railway sea defences against the impact of extreme weather.

Photo: Network Rail

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