Transport for Wales: All you need to know as major works for South Wales Metro close many lines

Rail passengers are being urged to check before they try to catch a train this weekend as many lines will be shut due to major upgrade works.

It is all in preparation for the South Wales Metro, which is not due to be completed before the end of 2024.

Several routes in the south Wales region will be affected for the rest of this month as work ramps up.

This weekend sees the start of a 10-month closure of the railway line between Treherbert in the Rhondda, and Pontypridd.

Passengers living in the Rhondda valley will be entitled to a 50% discount railcard on the replacement bus services that will operate during this time.

The railcard is valid from 29 April 2023 until the end of February next year. Passengers are being told to visit Transport for Wales' website to find out how to get one.

• Which lines are shut and for how long?

Transport for Wales has outlined the full list of routes that will not have any trains running between the following dates:

• Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Bay (Saturday 15 April to Sunday 30 April)

• Pontypridd and Aberdare (Sunday 16 April to Friday 12 May)

• Cardiff Central and Radyr via the City Line (Monday 24 April to Tuesday 2 May)

• Cardiff Central and Radyr via Cathays (Tuesday 25 April to Tuesday 2 May)

• Radyr and Pontypridd (Tuesday 25 April to Friday 12 May)

• Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil (Saturday 29 April to Tuesday 2 May)

• Pontypridd and Treherbert (Saturday 29 April to early 2024)

• Cardiff and Ebbw Vale (Sunday 23 and Sunday 30 April)

Passengers were asked to "bear with" Transport for Wales back in early March as some trains were pulled from service for "urgent safety checks and engine repairs".

It followed a number of incidents involving the Class 175 trains, including some fires.

Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, from Transport for Wales, thanked passengers for "continued patience" while the "vital transformation work takes place on the Valleys lines" and work continues to "resolve the issues" with the Class 175 trains.

He said it has left the rail operator "with a temporary shortage of rolling stock across the network".

Some services are back up and running properly but different trains are running on other routes, and they have "less capacity than usual," Mr Van der Velde said.

However, he stressed that "as soon as each [Class 175] train is repaired and passes the safety checks, it is brought back into passenger service".

• Analysis from ITV Wales reporter Mike Griffiths

Ministers and Transport for Wales bosses have likened the project to "building a new railway on top of an existing railway that's still running services".

But suspending those services for weeks at time has been necessary, as engineers replace track, add overhead power lines, and improve station platforms.

In the case of the line from Pontypridd to Treherbert, the route will now be shut for at 10 months.

Last month, James Price, Transport for Wales' Chief Executive defended the decision to ITV News, saying an alternative phased closure would only delay completion further.

TfW said it is also faced unexpected delays in different locations due to limited power infrastructure and the need to divert utilities.

The year ahead will also see major work to replace signalling systems across the south Wales valleys.

The very first tram-trains that will operate on the Aberdare, Merthyr and Treherbert routes have begun to arrive in the newly-built depot at Taff's Well.

But before they can run, there's still a lot of work to be done.

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