Bridge problem cardiff Central 20/4/25 route blocked Newport Cardiff

[didcot_watcher]

Are there any more details on the bridge problem in the Cardiff Central area that has caused mass cancelations today and apparently will cause issues until end of day 21/4/25.
Thanks

 

[Ian Hardy]

Only platforms 0, 1 & 2 can be used to and from Newport. The lines between Cardiff Central and Cardiff Queen Street are closed. Apart from that I don't know anything else.

 

[StripeyNick]

The bridge carrying the Valley lines over the main was found to have shifted.

From someone I know within the railway, they had been informed it had moved a couple of feet which, if that's the case, I'd going to cause quite a serious issue over the coming days.

Relief lines have been closed

 

[didcot_watcher]

The bridge carrying the Valley lines over the main was found to have shifted.

From someone I know within the railway, they had been informed it had moved a couple of feet which, if that's the case, I'd going to cause quite a serious issue over the coming days.

Relief lines have been closed

Couple of feet!! How is it still staying up?

 

[Ashley Hill]

It was found following an overnight bridge inspection. One girder found away from its mounting.

 

[Topological]

It looks like just going through Platforms 0-2 is working well at the moment. Hopefully, stripping out some of the Cardiff terminators is helping keep the longer-distance stuff moving.

 

[Chingy]

It looks like just going through Platforms 0-2 is working well at the moment. Hopefully, stripping out some of the Cardiff terminators is helping keep the longer-distance stuff moving.

That & the fact it’s Sunday, so a thinner passenger timetable & a minimal freight timetable anyway.

Will be interesting to see how the mains cope come Tuesday, should the reliefs still be closed then, what with the return of freight traffic after the BH weekend and a busier passenger flow.

 

[VP185]

Another fine example of well maintained infrastructure.

 

[vicbury]

It was found following an overnight bridge inspection. One girder found away from its mounting.

So one girder has shifted, or the whole bridge?

 

[GatwickDepress]

How long would something like this usually take to fix? Or is a 'how long is a piece of string' situation?

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

The bridge carrying the Valley lines over the main was found to have shifted.

From someone I know within the railway, they had been informed it had moved a couple of feet which, if that's the case, I'd going to cause quite a serious issue over the coming days.

Relief lines have been closed

There are two separate structures there and going to take a very big hit to move them 2ft and i doubt and RRV could impart enough force to do that. However, looks like there is support steelwork to the structure containing the lines down to central (see below) that is potentially more vulnerable to damage.

 

[WAB]

Looks like it’ll be bad tomorrow. Nothing running via Queen Street at all - the Rhymney line will be suspended and the services through Pontypridd will be diverted via the City line.

The Holyhead and Ebbw Vale services look to be cancelled too.

It is surprising that a service on the Caerphilly line can’t be run.

 

[Topological]

Looks like it’ll be bad tomorrow. Nothing running via Queen Street at all - the Rhymney line will be suspended and the services through Pontypridd will be diverted via the City line.

The Holyhead and Ebbw Vale services look to be cancelled too.

It is surprising that a service on the Caerphilly line can’t be run.

Makes sense though, because terminating trains at Central cause enough problems with all 5 Newport facing platforms open.

Presumably the trains which only operate to/from the West will arrive and depart from Platforms 3 and 4 to keep 0, 1 and 2 free for trains continuing across Cardiff.

 

[John R]

Looks like it’ll be bad tomorrow. Nothing running via Queen Street at all - the Rhymney line will be suspended and the services through Pontypridd will be diverted via the City line.

The Holyhead and Ebbw Vale services look to be cancelled too.

It is surprising that a service on the Caerphilly line can’t be run.

Agree. Can nothing run into Queen St and reverse? Is the Bay line open or closed for engineering work at the moment, as that would be an obvious diversion.

 

[LlanishenBull]

I've been able to buy a ticket from Heath to Bristol for travel tomorrow morning. Bought an hour or so ago.
Assume from above I may not have a train from Heath to Cardiff Central?

 

[Ashley Hill]

So one girder has shifted, or the whole bridge?

The upside girder. I don’t know anything more than that.

 

[didcot_watcher]

The upside girder. I don’t know anything more than that.

So possibly the pillar in the image above.

 

[Jez]

Over 100 cancellations tomorrow and over 100 other amendments/services stopping short.

Why do the Holyheads need to be cancelled at Shrewsbury? If there is an issue in Cardiff why cant call at Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Abergavenny, Pontypool And New Inn, Cwmbran and Newport?

 

[vicbury]

Over 100 cancellations tomorrow and over 100 other amendments/services stopping short.

Why do the Holyheads need to be cancelled at Shrewsbury? If there is an issue in Cardiff why cant call at Church Stretton, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Abergavenny, Pontypool And New Inn, Cwmbran and Newport?

I guess for the same reason that the GWR Cardiff to Portsmouth services are terminating at Bristol instead of Newport. It can be chaotic at Newport at the best of times, so I'm guessing it can't cope with a significant increase in terminating services

 

[Jez]

I guess for the same reason that the GWR Cardiff to Portsmouth services are terminating at Bristol instead of Newport. It can be chaotic at Newport at the best of times, so I'm guessing it can't cope with a significant increase in terminating services

Yes but terminating it 9 stops early is excessive. Terminating the Pompey trains at Bristol is much more reasonable.

 

[WAB]

Agree. Can nothing run into Queen St and reverse? Is the Bay line open or closed for engineering work at the moment, as that would be an obvious diversion.

I can’t see any signalled moves on Traksy for services coming from the north. The layout at Queen Street appears to be quite restrictive even for normal operations. I’m very surprised that there isn’t the ability to turn services there.

 

[LlanishenBull]

To a layman, all the excessive cancellations may seem like a convenient excuse to blame Network Rail for a potential shortage of bank holiday staff in some of the operators?

 

[Towers]

How frequent is the inspection regime on infrastructure such as this? A reported shift measured in feet seems rather alarming!

 

[Peter Sarf]

Another fine example of well maintained infrastructure.

Really (sarcasm).

To add :-
It would be stunning if a gradual movement ending up at two feet went undetected. This must be arguably the most critical bridge in Wales ?.

How frequent is the inspection regime on infrastructure such as this? A reported shift measured in feet seems rather alarming!

I am going to take an uneducated guess that something hit the steel work - perhaps an OUT of gauge item on a freight train ?.
Or a foundation has given way.
That is a very vulnerable item (upright) in the photo upthread !.

I suppose detectors for movement/vibration are more likely on rail over road bridges that are at risk from a bash by a road vehicle. Probably Network rail would never believe it could be "self inflicted" !.

 

[Cardiff123]

The last time the bridge between Queen St and Central was closed for an extended period was due to a landslip and it was shut for 2 weeks, back in 2012.

According to this article, back then Arriva managed to turnaround Rhymney & Coryton trains at Queen St.

Cardiff rail services disruption after wall collapse

A rail line into Cardiff will be closed for up to 14 days following the collapse of a wall which has led to disruption for south Wales services.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[AdamWW]

Today there is serious disruption to trains to/from Cardiff due to a "bridge defect". It looks as if this started around lunchtime yesterday, so they've had a while to get information out.

As well as trains between Newprt and Cardiff being disrupted, the line between Central and Queen Street seems to be completely closed.

Therefore the only Valley Lines services that are running are the ones that normally go via the City Line, and some that have been diverted via the City Line.

This is what I think is happening froma quick look at Traksy and information on individual trains.

But TfW say:

Cancellations to services between Cardiff Central and Coryton


Due to urgent repairs to a bridge between Cardiff Central and Coryton all lines will be blocked.
Impact
Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled or suspended. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
Due to urgent repairs to a bridge between Cardiff Queen St and Cardiff Central all services to/from Coryton/Caerphilly will be suspended.
Additional Information
We have organised ticket acceptance with buses to run on the following routes to assist customers to complete journeys where possible at no extra cost:

Stagecoach Lines:
Rhymney Caerphilly services 51, 53
Bargoed - Caerphilly services 50, C9
Ystrad Mynach - Cardiff service 26
Pontypridd - Cardiff T4, X32
Treherbert - Cardiff 120, 130 ,121, 132
Radyr - Cardiff 124, 122
Cardiff Bus:
Services 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 52, 63, 92, 93, 94, 6, 7, 8

You can find details of these services using the journey planner at www.traveline.cymru.

We apologise that our Pay As You Go cannot be used on local bus operators. We advise passengers to tap out at the earliest opportunity. An agreement is in place with Cardiff Bus & Stagecoach to accept valid rail tickets and passes on all routes that operate in/out of Cardiff City Centre.

We have limited road transport at Caerphilly running between Caerphilly and Cardiff Central, to assist customers to complete journeys where possible at no extra cost.

Road Transport will take longer than rail services. Please allow extra time to complete your journey.

For helpful advice if you need to travel on a rail replacement service, including accessibility and bicycle information, please visit National Rails https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/rail-replacement-services/.
Further Information
If you have experienced a delay or cancellation, please contact our customer relations team or pick up a form from your nearest ticket office. You can email us using: [email protected]
Last Updated:21/04/2025 05:26

Now I know it's easy to criticise from the sidelines, but I really do find it very hard to understand the necessity to have a title that says it's just Coryton affected, lower down say it's Caerphilly too, then not mention disruption through Pontypridd at all, but just hint at it by mentioning bus ticket acceptance on those routes.

I know yesterday was a Sunday and today a bank holiday, but is it really not possible to do better?

If this was a one-off I wouldn't be bothering to type. But this is absolutely typical of TfW.

Oh, and I think the

We have limited road transport at Caerphilly running between Caerphilly and Cardiff Central, to assist customers to complete journeys where possible at no extra cost.

is in fact the replacement buses that would have run anyway due to engineering works, which seems a little disingenious to me.

Edit: For anyone a bit confused by this post, I started a new thread and my post was moved into this one.

 

[andypops]

I’m fairly surprised at the questions around the Rhymney line not being open, when there’s a well publicised closure until mid-May for electrification between Caerphilly and Rhymney…

This should reduce the number of people impacted directly I guess.

 

[John R]

I notice that today the services between Pontypridd and Cardiff Bay and the shuttles to Queen St from the Bay are also shown as cancelled due to the bridge. Yet they I didn’t think the bridge they go over was the one affected?

 

[Towers]

I notice that today the services between Pontypridd and Cardiff Bay and the shuttles to Queen St from the Bay are also shown as cancelled due to the bridge. Yet they I didn’t think the bridge they go over was the one affected?

Is the stock currently able to get to Queen St from Canton?

 

[andypops]

Is the stock currently able to get to Queen St from Canton?

Via Radyr?